MI-3 Plus

CMOS有源像素传感器（APS）凭借其上级性能、灵活性以及与采集和处理要求的紧密集成，正在革新成像的许多方面。他们的进步在很大程度上是由于主流CMOS技术的进步。业界专注于为大众市场开发CMOS成像器，如数码相机和移动的电话。在MI-3内部，我们汇集了足够的技术专业知识和用户，将APS技术用于广泛的科学领域。该项目MI-3 Plus将推进该技术的一个方面，即实现抗辐射的晶圆级成像器，约12平方厘米，专为科学和临床使用而设计。在此过程中，我们直接解决了EPSRC硅技术大挑战（2008年）中提出的挑战之一-用于医疗应用和爆炸物和武器成像的大型成像阵列。这种大型成像器将能够科普超过10 MRad的累积辐射剂量，大约为12 cm x 12 cm，并结合可编程帧内重置和分箱，以科普许多医学/科学应用中发现的图像强度的宽动态。将这些成像器拼接成具有最小粘合间隙的片，以生产用于射线照相等的躯干宽无透镜系统。成像器和支持采集系统将在一些关键应用领域进行试验，即：* 使用实验室和同步辐射源的骨/乳腺X射线摄影术 * 实验室和同步辐射源的结构晶体学 * 高分辨率和区分性行李筛查 * 数字乳腺X射线摄影术，特别是断层合成（3D成像）* 用于放射治疗的抗辐射超大面积传感器（X射线和质子）CMOS技术的更一般的能力可以在医学、生命科学、等-所谓的芯片实验室概念。这是EPSRC大挑战的另一个主题。通过对APS设备的选择性蚀刻，我们将展示使用这种新方法在高灵敏度和高分辨率下高效成像的优势。总体而言，将严格进行与现有方法的比较;并将向各自的用户社区和相关的商业系统提供商广泛展示所产生的系统。

CMOS Active Pixel Sensors (APS) are revolutionising many aspects of imaging with their superior performance, flexibility and close integration with the acquisition and processing requirements. Their progress is, in no small part, due to advances in mainstream CMOS technology. Industry is focussed on developing CMOS imagers for the mass markets such as digital cameras and mobile phones. Within MI-3, we brought together sufficient technology expertise and users to exploit APS technology for a broad range of science. This project, MI-3 Plus, will take forward one aspect of this technology - namely, the realisation of radiation-hard, wafer-scale imagers, approximately 12 cm square, specially designed for scientific and clinical use. In doing so, we directly address one of the challenges set out in the EPSRC Grand Challenges in Silicon Technology (2008) - Large imaging arrays for use in medical applications and imaging of explosives and weapons. Such large imagers will be able to cope with an accumulated radiation dose in excess of 10 MRad, be approximately 12 cm x 12 cm and incorporate programmable intra-frame resets and binning to cope with the wide dynamics of image intensity found in many medical/scientific applications. It would be possible to tile these imagers, with a minimum bonding gap, to produce torso-wide lensless systems for radiography, etc. The imagers, and the supporting acquisition systems, will be trialled in number of key application areas, namely:* Bone/breast radiography using laboratory and synchrotron sources * Structural crystallography on laboratory and synchrotron sources* High resolution and discriminatory baggage screening * Digital mammography, in particular tomosynthesis (3D imaging) * Radiation-hard very large area sensors for radiotherapy (x-ray and proton) The more general capabilities of CMOS technology can be exploited in miniature analytical instruments for medicine, life sciences, etc - the so-called Lab-on-a-chip concept. This is another topic that forms one of the EPSRC Grand Challenges. Through selective etching of our APS devices we will demonstrate the advantages of very efficient imaging - at high sensitivity and resolution - using this new approach.Overall, comparisons with existing methods will be rigorously undertaken; and the resulting systems will be widely demonstrated to their respective user communities and associated commercial system providers.