Possibility of X-ray detection using quantum wells

The author presents simple designs of quantum-well-based detectors which can be easily fabricated and which can detect a flux of X-rays incident on the detector. The author calculates the X-ray induced change in absorption and refractive index in GaAs-based quantum wells and uses that information to predict the performance of several proposed X-ray detectors based on carrier induced change in optical susceptibility in semiconductor quantum well structures following X-ray absorption. A 1% change in the probe beam in a reflection geometry is calculated for an incident flux of 12 X-ray photons per mu m/sup 2/.<
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