Investigation of CdTe, GaAs, Se and Si as Sensor Materials for Mammography
S. Procz, Gerardo Roque, C. Ávila, Jorge Racedo, Roberto Javier Rueda‐Esteban, Iván Santos, M. Fiederle
Abstract
Despite the benefits of mammography investigations, some studies have shown that X-ray exposure from the mammography screening itself can statistically cause breast cancer in a small fraction of women. Therefore, a dose reduction in mammography is desirable. At the same time, there is a demand for a higher spatial resolution in mammographic imaging. The most promising way to achieve these goals is the use of advanced photon-processing semiconductor X-ray detectors with optimum sensor materials. This study addresses the investigation of the optimum semiconductor sensor material for mammography in combination with the photon-processing detector Medipix3RX. The influence of K-shell fluorescence from the sensor material on the achievable contrast-to-noise ratio is investigated, as well as the attenuation efficiency. The three different sensor materials, CdTe, GaAs, and Si are studied, showing advances of CdTe-sensors for mammography. Furthermore, a comparison of the contrast-to-noise ratio between a clinical Se-detector and Medipix3RX detectors with Si- and CdTe-sensors is shown using a self-produced mammography phantom that is based on real human tissue.