An X-ray inspection apparatus includes an X-ray source configured to irradiate an article with X-rays in a plurality of energy bands, an X-ray detection unit capable of detecting the X-rays by a photon counting method, an image generation unit configured to generate an overall transmission image corresponding to the X-rays in all of the plurality of energy bands and a transmission image corresponding to the X-rays in some of the plurality of energy bands on the basis of a detection result of the X-rays by the X-ray detection unit, and an inspection unit configured to inspect the article on the basis of the overall transmission image and the transmission image.

A detector for imaging and efficiently digitizing a spatial distribution of photon flux includes pixel circuits that compressively encode pixel values generated by integrated analog to digital converters (ADCs). On-pixel digital compression circuits (DCCs) implement compression to increase continuous frame rate by reducing the number of bits per pixel while keeping quantization error below Poisson noise. Several mapping algorithms for photon-counting and charge-integrating detectors and compact digital logic implementations are presented.

Disclosed is a dual-energy X-ray detector having a first detector line with first detector elements and a second detector line with second detector elements arranged parallel thereto, the detector lines being arranged parallel to one another in the line direction and being arranged one behind the other in the direction of the X-ray beams to be detected in such a manner that the projection of the first and the second detector lines in the direction of one of the X-ray beams to be detected, which passes through the surface center of gravity of a reference detector element of the first or the second detector line, are overlappingly offset from each other by an effective offset (Dx; Dy). Further disclosed is an X-ray inspection apparatus including such a detector and methods for processing detector data provided by means of the detector.

An inspection portal includes a first x-ray source configured to emit a first beam, a first backscatter detector configured to detect backscatter from the first beam, a second x-ray source configured to emit a second beam, a second backscatter detector configured to detect backscatter from the second beam, and at least one first collimator and at least one second collimator, each oriented to detect backscatter from the associated beam and to block scatter from the other beam. The first and second backscatter detectors are configured to weight signals acquired using each of their detector element based on the first and second beams. The first backscatter detector is configured to use signal processing techniques to mitigate crosstalk due to scatter from the second beam, and the second backscatter detector is configured to use the signal processing techniques to mitigate crosstalk due to scatter from the first beam.

A method and a system for providing calibration for a photon counting detector forward model for material decomposition. The flux independent weighted bin response function is estimated using the expectation maximization method, and then used to estimate the pileup correction terms at each tube voltage setting for each detector pixel.

A radiation detector unit includes a read-out integrated circuit (ROIC) including a plurality of core circuit blocks located on a continuous uninterrupted substrate adjacent to one another along a first direction, and a plurality of radiation sensors bonded to a front side surface of the ROIC, where each radiation sensor of the plurality of radiation sensors is bonded to a respective core circuit block of the plurality of core circuit blocks of the ROIC. Additional embodiments include detector modules and detector arrays formed by assembling the detector units, and methods of operating and manufacturing the same.

A method for measuring the stress of a concave section of a test subject which comprises a metal and has a surface and a concave section, the method including: a detection step for detecting, using a two-dimensional detector, a diffraction ring of diffracted X-rays which is formed by causing X-rays to be incident on the concave section and to be diffracted by the concave section; and a calculation step for calculating the stress of the concave section on the basis of the detection results during the detection step. Therein, the detection step involves causing X-rays to be incident on each of a plurality of sites inside the concave section of the test subject, and detecting, using a two-dimensional detector, the diffraction ring formed by the diffraction of the X-rays by the concave section.

A method and apparatus for diagnosing and/or calibrating underperforming pixels in detectors in a small pixelated photon counting CT system utilizes a series of tests on image data acquired in-situ as part of a series of calibration scans in the CT system. Tests are performed on the acquired data to determine the existence of underperforming pixels within the detectors such that the information acquired by those pixels can be replaced by alternate data from surrounding pixels (e.g. by interpolation). The underperforming pixels are stored in “bad” pixel tables and may be specific to a type of image (e.g., spectral or counting) and a specific protocol.

Spectroscopy systems require a crystal having specific properties for analyzing a spectrum of a sample, which is typically performed for measuring the presence of one element at a time. A two-dimensional (2D) crystal mount for performing simultaneous spectroscopy measurements includes a crystal holder having multiple rows of crystal mounts. Each crystal mount is positioned and orientated to physically support a crystal at a fixed position and fixed orientation relative to an optical axis. A sample provides radiation to analyzer crystals disposed in the crystal mounts, and a detector may detect radiation reflected from the analyzer crystals, for performing multiple simultaneous spectroscopy measurements.

A method is provided for characterizing a sample, by estimating a plurality of characteristic thicknesses, each being associated with a calibration material. The method includes acquiring an energy spectrum transmitted through the sample, located in an X and/or gamma spectral band; for each spectrum of a plurality of calibration spectra, calculating a likelihood from said calibration spectrum, and from the spectrum transmitted through the sample, each calibration spectrum corresponding to the energy spectrum transmitted through a stack of gauge blocks, each formed of a known thickness of a calibration material; and estimating the characteristic thicknesses associated with the sample according to the criterion of maximum likelihood.