Microtopographical Characterization of Microcavities on X-Rays Sensor Array.

A large number of medical imaging methods, such as computed tomography, ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging, are for quite some time digital. X-ray imaging was kept analogue until recently. Over last half a dozen years' digital radiography systems are being successfully developed. Among other advantages common to other medical imaging methods, digital X-ray imaging allow an important reduction of the X-ray doses involved in different medical diagnosis. The communication herein reports to the microtopographic inspection of laser ablation opened microcavities during development of an X-rays microdetector based on an array of wells filled with scintillator crystals. The wells were obtained by laser ablation of a 500 microns thick aluminum film. X-ray energy is converted to visible light within the crystals and then detected by a photodetector fabricated in a standard CMOS process. Aluminium thick-films were chosen as present good reflectivity in the visible range improving the amount of photons collected at each photodetector. Square wells 100 microns wide and 490 microns deep were targeted. In this communication we will report on the process of optical microtopographic characterization of the aluminium wells. This metrological process was performed in order to optimize the laser ablation system parameter in order to obtain the desired size square wells with almost vertical smooth sidewalls. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]