Direct-conversion flat-panel X-ray image sensors for digital radiography

Advances in active-matrix array flat panels for displays over the last decade have led to the development of flat-panel X-ray image detectors. Recent flat-panel detectors have shown image quality exceeding that of X-ray film/screen cassettes. They can also permit the instantaneous capture, readout, and display of digital X-ray images and, hence, enable the clinical transition to digital radiography. There are two general approaches to flat panel detector technology: 1) direct and 2) indirect conversion. The present paper outlines the operating principles for direct-conversion detectors based on the use of photoconductors. It formulates and reviews the required X-ray photoconductor properties for such applications and examines to what extent potential materials fulfill these requirements. The quantum efficiency, X-ray sensitivity, noise, and detective quantum efficiency factors are discussed with reference to current and potential large area X-ray photoconductors.