Grant: Research Tools and Instruments

The University of Waterloo is an international leader in digital X-ray technology, having facilitated the invention of one of the world's highest-spatial-resolution digital X-ray imagers with a pixel pitch of just 6 microns, more than 10 smaller than a comparable commercially-available state-of-the-art X-ray imaging device. New applications are poised to emerge for this ultra-high resolution X-ray imager in medical, life science, and industrial imaging. Key leaders at the Canadian Light Source beam line and the U.S. National Labs synchrotron facility have already expressed keen interest in using these high-resolution detectors to explore new applications. Through this proposal, we request custom tools capable of packaging and characterizing high-resolution digital X-ray imagers during the engineering prototype development phase, as well for characterizing other novel X-ray imager technology under development, including mechanically-flexible, low-dose, and low-cost X-ray imagers. The characterization equipment will be housed in the university-level Giga-to-Nanoelectronics (G2N) facility and will be accessible to all G2N lab users (45 students and faculty annually from across ten departments) as well as local hospitals and digital imaging companies who would use the facility to characterize their existing X-ray equipment and perform troubleshooting on new products. The present infrastructure allows for testing and characterization of a wide variety of X-ray sensors in the medical, industrial and veterinary space, however, the present facilities do not have the ability to characterize high speed X-ray imagers, a high value niche that includes photon counting X-ray imagers for medical, NDT and scientific imaging. The PI and co-applicants are currently training over 30 HQP annually, and it is expected that at least half of these will be trained on X-ray and digital imager characterization and packaging using the proposed infrastructure for high speed X-ray detectors. The HQP trained will have a variety of hands-on skills due to the infrastructure including working with nano-second pulse X-ray sources, characterization setups such as X-ray pulse height spectroscopy and time of flight as well as high voltage encapsulation and packaging technology that is critical for fast X-ray imagers. The PI and co-applicants have a strong record of excellent HQP training, as evidenced by achievements of former HQP; graduates from applicants have found employment at Teledyne DALSA, Perkin Elmer, IBM, Intel, GE Healthcare, Apple, ON Semiconductor, USFDA, Omnivision, Christie Digital, Ignis, and two former students have started their own company. The proposed equipment will make Waterloo the only university in Canada with a comprehensive X-ray imager development and characterization facility and maintain Canada's global leadership in digital X-ray technology.