RADIATION DETECTOR AND RADIOGRAPHIC APPARATUS

• US 20120140881A1
• Filed: 10/11/2011
• Published: 06/07/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 12/02/2010
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Shimadzu Corporation
• Original Assignee: Shimadzu Corporation
• Inventors: Tokuda, Satoshi, Sato, Toshiyuki, Kuwabara, Shoji, Yoshimatsu, Akina, Tanabe, Koichi, Yoshimuta, Toshinori, Kishihara, Hiroyuki, Kaino, Masatomo
• Application Number:
  US13/270,258
• Publication Number:
  US 20120140881A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 378/62
• CPC Class Codes: G01T 1/247 Detector read-out circuitry for processing gain or off-set correction H04N
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/46 by combining or binning pixels
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/75 Circuitry for providing, modifying or processing image signals from the pixel array
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/32 Transforming X-rays cameras or camera modules for generating image signals from X-rays H04N23/30; circuitry of SSIS for transforming X-rays into image signals H04N25/30

Abstract

A drive controller varies a bias voltage applied from a bias supply to a conversion layer based on the presence or absence of binning, that is, for a case of carrying out binning where switching elements are driven on the basis of a plurality of rows at a time by a gate drive circuit, and for a case of carrying out no binning where the switching elements are driven on a row-by-row basis by the gate drive circuit. Therefore, in the case of a fluoroscopic mode for acquiring images with binning, a lowering of a dynamic range can be suppressed. In the case of a radiographic mode with no binning, spatial resolution can be made high. That is, a high dynamic range and high spatial resolution can be optimized according to modes of operation.

Claims

1. A radiation detector for detecting radiation, comprising:

a conversion layer for converting incident radiation into electric charges;

a bias supply for applying a bias voltage to the conversion layer;

storage capacitors arranged in two dimensions for storing the electric charges converted by the conversion layer;

switching elements arranged in two dimensions for reading the electric charges stored in the storage capacitors;

a gate drive circuit for selectively driving the switching elements on one of a basis of one row at a time and a basis of a plurality of rows at a time; and

a controller for varying the bias voltage applied from the bias supply to the conversion layer according to a case of carrying out binning in which the gate drive circuit drives the switching elements on the basis of the plurality of rows at a time, and a case without the binning in which the gate drive circuit drives the switching elements on the basis of one row at a time.

2. The radiation detector according to claim 1, wherein the controller is arranged to set the bias voltage applied from the bias supply to the conversion layer lower for the case of carrying out the binning than for the case without the binning.

3. The radiation detector according to claim 2, wherein the larger is the number of rows of the switching elements driven by the gate drive circuit, the lower the controller is arranged to set the bias voltage applied from the bias supply to the conversion layer.

4. The radiation detector according to claim 1, wherein the conversion layer is formed of one of CdTe and CdZnTe.

5. The radiation detector according to claim 2, wherein the conversion layer is formed of one of CdTe and CdZnTe.

6. The radiation detector according to claim 3, wherein the conversion layer is formed of one of CdTe and CdZnTe.

7. A radiographic apparatus for acquiring still images and dynamic images, comprising:

a radiation emitter for emitting radiation; and

a radiation detector for detecting radiation transmitted through a subject;

wherein the radiation detector includes;

a conversion layer for converting incident radiation into electric charges;

a bias supply for applying a bias voltage to the conversion layer;

storage capacitors arranged in two dimensions for storing the electric charges converted by the conversion layer;

switching elements arranged in two dimensions for reading the electric charges stored in the storage capacitors;

a gate drive circuit for selectively driving the switching elements on one of a basis of one row at a time and a basis of a plurality of rows at a time; and

a controller for varying the bias voltage applied from the bias supply to the conversion layer according to a case of carrying out binning in which the gate drive circuit drives the switching elements on the basis of the plurality of rows at a time, and a case without the binning in which the gate drive circuit drives the switching elements on the basis of one row at a time.