Development of a High Count-Rate X-ray Detector with Backscattering Geometry for Synchrotron Applications

We present the development of a new 16-channel SDD-based X-ray detector with a backscattering geometry, called ASCANIO, designed for experiments in synchrotron beamlines.The main objective of this research project, supported by DESY (Germany), is to improve the quality of X-ray Fluorescence Microscopy (XFM) experiments providing a larger throughput of events. The detection module consists of four monolithic SDDs, each with four channels, and a thickness of 1 mm to provide a high absorption efficiency of 65% at 20 keV. ASCANIO is optimised to maximise photon collection by having a solid angle of 1 sr with 8 mm between the sample and the window. To ensure count-rate capabilities higher than 20 Mcps, it implements an innovative tilted SDD geometry that provides a uniform distribution of fluorescence light among channels. The low-noise analog read-out assures good energy resolution of 129 eV with 2 μs peaking time and 175 eV with 32 ns peaking time. The development of ASCANIO will contribute to the enhancement of XFM experiments by making sample analysis more detailed and faster.