I M A G E S E N S O R
Flat panel sensor
C7921
High resolution and high frame rate
Flat panel sensor C7921 is a digital X-ray image sensor newly developed as key devices for non-destructive inspection, biomedical imaging, X-
ray microscopy and other real-time X-ray imaging applications requiring high resolution and high image quality. C7921 consists of a sensor board
and a control board, both assembled in a thin, flat and compact package. The sensor board contains a CsI scintillator plate, a two-dimensional
photodiode array with FET switches and a signal processing IC chip. The photodiode array has a 1056 × 1056 pixel format with minimized
blooming and is highly sensitive to bluish green light emitted from the CsI scintillator. Each row of pixels is addressed in sequence by the vertical
shift register connected to the gate line.
Light emission occurs when X-rays are absorbed in the CsI scintillator. This light emission enters directly into the two-dimensional photodiode
array where an electric charge is stored in each pixel according to the light intensity. This charge is then transferred to the corresponding data line
by applying a control signal to the vertical shift register.
The sensor board also has 8 charge sensitive amplifier arrays each having 132 channel amplifiers with a horizontal shift register. These amplifiers
with a total of 1056 channels are connected to a CDS (Correlated Double Sampling) circuit that senses the charge on each video line and sends it
as the analog video signal from each amplifier array. The control board converts the analog video signal into a 12-bit digital signal and outputs it to
an external frame grabber from a 12-bit parallel port.
C7921 delivers a frame rate of 16 frames per second using 4 × 4 binning and is ideal for high frame rate applications, also ideal for applications
requiring high resolution because of its 50 µm pixel size. Massive digital image data can easily be monitored on a display unit by using a frame
grabber board and video memory installed in the PC. C7921 will prove ideal tools for real-time X-ray imaging and processing where easy-to-use,
high-resolution X-ray digital image sensors are needed.
Applications
Features
Non-destructive inspection
Digital X-ray photography
High quality image: 1056 × 1056 pixels
Pixel size: 50 × 50 µm
No image distortion
Digital output (12 bits)
High-speed imaging by binning operation:
16 frames/s (4 × 4 binning)
Wide dynamic range
■ Block diagram
High cost performance
PIXEL NUMBER
1
2
1055 1056
2111 2112
EXTERNAL POWER SUPPLY
A. Vdd, D. Vdd V (±7.5)
(not attached)
1057
SCINTILLATOR
(52.8 mm × 52.8 mm)
PHOTODIODE
IntExt
ARRAY
BINNING
(bin0, bin1)
IntExt
1115135 1115136
AMP ARRAY No. 8
OSCILLATOR
TIMING
PULSE
GENERATOR
AMP ARRAY No. 1
ExtTrg
Vsync
Hsync
Pclk
BIAS
GENERATER
BUFFER
AMP
PROCESSING
AMP
A/D
A/D
FIFO
FIFO
VIDEO OUTPUT
(12 BIT DIGITAL)
BUFFER
AMP
PROCESSING
AMP
KACCC0170EA
1