300-Element Silicon-Lithium Position-Sensitive Imaging Detector for Angiography

Silicon lithium-drifted [Si(Li)] detectors 150 mm long, 10 mm wide and 5 mm thick with 300 individual elements have been fabricated as imaging detectors for noninvasive studies of human coronary arteries using 33 keV x-rays from a synchrotron radiation beamline. This detector is an extension of earlier work on 30 mm long devices with initially 30 and later 60 elements. The detector fabrication details are discussed highlighting problems in uniform lithium-ion compensation. The device structure is examined and measurements on the interelement impedances presented. Finally an angiograph of the coronary arteries in an excised pig's heart obtained with this 300-element detector is presented.