To Reconstruct or Discard: A Comparison of Additive and Subtractive Charge Sharing Correction Algorithms at High and Low X-ray Fluxes

Effective X-ray photon-counting spectral imaging (x-CSI) detector design involves the optimisation of a wide range of parameters both regarding the sensor (e.g., material, thickness and pixel pitch) and electronics (e.g., signal-processing chain and count-triggering scheme). Our previous publications have looked at the role of pixel pitch, sensor thickness and a range of additive charge sharing correction algorithms (CSCAs), and in this work, we compare additive and subtractive CSCAs to identify the advantages and disadvantages. These CSCAs differ in their approach to dealing with charge sharing: additive approaches attempt to reconstruct the original event, whilst subtractive approaches discard the shared events. Each approach was simulated on data from a wide range of x-CSI detector designs (pixel pitches 100–600 µm, sensor thickness 1.5 mm) and X-ray fluxes (106–109 photons mm−2 s−1), and their performance was characterised in terms of absolute detection efficiency (ADE), absolute photopeak efficiency (APE), relative coincidence counts (RCC) and binned spectral efficiency (BSE). Differences between the two approaches were explained mechanistically in terms of the CSCA’s effect on both charge sharing and pule pileup. At low X-ray fluxes, the two approaches perform similarly, but at higher fluxes, they differ in complex ways. Generally, additive CSCAs perform better on absolute metrics (ADE and APE), and subtractive CSCAs perform better on relative metrics (RCC and BSE). Which approach to use will, thus, depend on the expected operating flux and whether dose efficiency or spectral efficiency is more important for the application in mind.