By submitting this form, you are agreeing to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Coming Soon.
Silicon drift detectors (SDDs) are X-ray radiation detectors used in electron microscopy and x-ray spectrometry (XRF and EDS). Silicon drift detectors, like other solid state X-ray detectors, determine the energy of an incoming photon by the degree of ionisation it causes in the detector material.
The detector electronics measure the charge produced by this changing ionisation for each incoming photon. This material, high purity silicon with extremely little leakage current, is used in SDDs. Because of its great purity, Peltier cooling can be used instead of the more conventional liquid nitrogen.
The transversal field produced by a sequence of ring electrodes, which causes charge carriers to “drift” to a small collection electrode, is the primary characteristic that sets an SDD apart from other semiconductor devices.
The collection electrode, which serves as the first stage of amplification in previous detector designs, is centrally positioned with an external FET (field effect transistor) to transform the current into a voltage.
Modern designs directly include the FET into the chip, dramatically enhancing energy resolution and throughput. This is caused by a decrease in anode-to-FET capacitance, which lowers electronic noise.
Some plans relocate the anode and FET outside the radiation-exposed region. This results in a slightly slower throughput and a little longer reaction time. Yet, improved energy resolutions result from the lower anode size. Maintaining the silicon drift detector’s energy resolution is attainable when combined with enhanced or modified signal processing.
The Global Silicon Drift Detector Market accounted for $XX Billion in 2022 and is anticipated to reach $XX Billion by 2030, registering a CAGR of XX% from 2023 to 2030.
A negative bias voltage is applied to both sides of a thick disc of high-resistance silicon to cause it to completely deplete. This is how Silicon Drift Detectors (SDD) work. A significant transverse electric field component is created within the structure on one side of the planar structure where the bias is graduated throughout the device using a series of “drift rings.”
This is done to send electrons created by x-ray interactions in the direction of a tiny anode that collects charge. To enable good low energy x-ray sensitivity and minimal charge leakage, the device has a consistent shallow implanted junction contact on the other side.
The very low capacitance of this drift detector construction allows for good energy resolution at reasonably fast electronic processing times.
As Silicon Drift Detectors have a very low leakage current, they can operate at temperatures that electronic Peltier cooling systems can easily attain, negating the need for liquid nitrogen and enabling maximum performance. A low noise charge sensitive amplifier and an input FET (field effect transistor) that is localised at the sensor make up the preamplifier.
Signal electrons are transmitted to the FET gate after being captured at the anode by the drift field in the sensor. Via the use of a feedback capacitor Cf, the preamplifier converts this signal charge Qs into a voltage step Vstep.
