Systematic investigation of the signal properties of polycrystalline HgI₂ detectors under mammographic, radiographic, fluoroscopic and radiotherapy irradiation conditions

The signal properties of polycrystalline mercuric iodide (HgI₂) film detectors, under irradiation conditions relevant to mammographic, radiographic, fluoroscopic and radiotherapy x-ray imaging, are reported. Each film detector consists of an ∼230 to ∼460 μM thick layer of HgI ₂ (fabricated through physical vapour deposition or a screen-print process) and a thin barrier layer, sandwiched between a pair of opposing electrode plates. The high atomic number, high density and low effective ionization energy, W_EFF, of HgI₂ make it an attractive candidate for significantly improving the performance of active matrix, flat-panel imagers (AMFPIs) for several x-ray imaging applications. The temporal behaviour of current from the film detectors in the presence and in the absence of radiation was used to examine dark current levels, the lag and reciprocity of the signal response, x-ray sensitivity and W_EFF. The results are discussed in the context of present AMFPI performance. This study provides performance data for a wide range of potential medical x-ray imaging applications from a single set of detectors and represents the first investigation of the signal properties of polycrystalline mercuric iodide for the radiotherapy application.