TWO-DIMENSIONAL PHOTON COUNTING ELEMENT

摘要

An adding unit adds an input signal generated in a signal generating unit connected to a specific pixel electrode portion out of pixel electrode portions arranged around a certain pixel electrode portion to an input signal generated in a signal generating unit connected to the certain pixel electrode portion. A discriminating unit discriminates whether a carrier input pattern coincides with any one of a plurality of discrimination patterns, and the carrier input pattern indicates, per the pixel electrode portion, presence of any carrier received in the certain pixel electrode portion and the pixel electrode portions arranged around the certain pixel electrode portion. The counting unit increments the number of photons in the case where the discriminating unit discriminates that the carrier input pattern coincides with any one of the discrimination patterns and further the input signal output from the adding unit after addition has a value exceeding a predetermined threshold.

主权项

1. A two-dimensional photon counting element, comprising:
a counting circuit connected to a plurality of pixel electrode portions arrayed two-dimensionally in M rows and N columns (M and N are integers of two or more) and counting number of photons by detecting carriers collected via the plurality of pixel electrode portions from a conversion unit that converts a photon to a carrier, wherein the counting circuit includes: a signal generating unit that generates an input signal having a value corresponding to number of carriers received in a certain pixel electrode portion out of the plurality of pixel electrode portions; an adding unit that adds the input signal generated in the signal generating unit connected to a specific pixel electrode portion out of the pixel electrode portions arranged around the certain pixel electrode portion to the input signal generated in the signal generating unit connected to the certain pixel electrode portion; a carrier input pattern discriminating unit that discriminates whether a carrier input pattern coincides with any one of a plurality of discrimination patterns, the carrier input pattern indicating, per pixel electrode portion, presence of any carrier received in the certain pixel electrode portion and the pixel electrode portions arranged around the certain pixel electrode portion; and a counting unit that increments the number of photons in a case where the carrier input pattern discriminating unit discriminates that the carrier input pattern coincides with any one of the plurality of discrimination patterns and further the input signal output from the adding unit after addition has a value exceeding a predetermined threshold.