Development of mercuric iodide energy dispersive X-ray array detectors

The authors consider that various areas of synchrotron radiation research, particularly extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) on dilute solutions and anomalous scattering, would greatly benefit from the availability of energy-dispersive detector arrays with high-energy resolution and good spatial resolution. Mercuric iodide (HgI/sub 2/) detector submodules developed to meet this need are described. These submodules can be grouped into larger arrays of 100-400 elements. A prototype five-element HgI/sub 2/ array detector has been constructed and tested. Each element is 7.3 mm*0.7 mm. An energy resolution of 335 eV (FWHM) for Mn-K/sub alpha / at 5.9 keV has been introduced into the charge preamplifiers in order to minimize electronic crosstalk between channels.<>