Abstract
Third generation synchrotron facilities such as the Diamond Light Source (DLS) have a wide range of experiments performed for a wide range of science fields. The DLS operates at energies up to 150 keV which introduces great challenges to radiation detector technology. This work focuses on the requirements that the detector technology faces for X-ray Absorption Fine Structure (XAFS) and powder diffraction experiments in I12 and I15 beam lines, respectively. A segmented HPGe demonstrator detector with in-built charge sensitive CUBE preamplifiers and a Schottky e- collection CdTe Medipix3RX detector systems were investigated to understand the underlying mechanisms that limit spectroscopic, imaging performances and stability and to find ways to overcome or minimise those limitations. The energy resolution and stability of the Ge demonstrator detector was found to have the required characteristics for XAFS measurements. Charge sharing was identified as a limiting factor to the resolution which is going to be addressed in the future development of a full detector system as well as reductions in electronic noise and cross-talk effects. The stability study of the Schottky CdTe Medipix3RX detector showed that polarization is highly dependent on temperature, irradiation duration and incoming flux. A new pixel behaviour called tri-phase (3-P) pixel was identified and a novel method for determining optimum operational conditions was developed. The use of the 3-P pixels as a criterion for depolarization resulted in a stable performance of the detector. Furthermore, the detector was applied in powder diffraction measurement at the I15 beam line and resulted in the detector diffraction pattern matching the simulated data. CdTe Medipix3RX and HEXITEC spectroscopic imaging detectors were applied in identification and discrimination of transitional metals for security application and K-edge subtraction for medical applications. The results showed that both detectors have potential to be applied in fields outside synchrotron radiation.