3D Particle Track Reconstrution in a Single Layer Cadmium-Telluride Hybrid Active Pixel Detector

In the past 20 years the search for neutrinoless double beta decay has driven many developements in all kind of detector technology. A new branch in this field are highly-pixelated semiconductor detectors - such as the CdTe-Timepix detectors. It compromises a cadmium-telluride sensor of 14 mm x 14 mm x 1 mm size with an ASIC which has 256 x 256 pixel of 55 \textmu m pixel pitch and can be used to obtain either spectroscopic or timing information in every pixel. In regular operation it can provide a 2D projection of particle trajectories; however, three dimensional trajectories are desirable for neutrinoless double beta decay and other applications. In this paper we present a method to obtain such trajectories. The method was developed and tested with simulations that assume some minor modifications to the Timepix ASIC. Also, we were able to test the method experimentally and in the best case achieved a position resolution of about 90 \textmu m with electrons of 4.4 GeV.Comment: 10 pages, 15 figure

The Potential of Hybrid Pixel Detectors in the Search for the Neutrinoless Double-Beta Decay of Cd-116

We investigated the potential of the energy resolving hybrid pixel detector Timepix contacted to a CdTe sensor layer for the search for the neutrinoless double-beta decay of Cd-116. We found that a CdTe sensor layer with 3 mm thickness and 165 mu m pixel pitch is optimal with respect to the effective Majorana neutrino mass (m(beta beta)) sensitivity. In simulations, we were able to demonstrate a possible reduction of the background level caused by single electrons by approximately 75% at a specific background rate of 10(-3) counts/(kg x keV x yr) at a detection efficiency reduction of about 23% with track analysis employing random decision forests. Exploitation of the imaging properties with track analysis leads to an improvement in sensitivity to m(beta beta) by about 22%. After 5 years of measuring time, the sensitivity to m(beta beta) of a 420 kg CdTe experiment (90% Cd-116 enrichment) would be 59 meV on a 90% confidence level for a specific single-electron background rate of 10(-3) counts/(kg x keV x yr). The alpha-particle background can be suppressed by at least about six orders of magnitude. The benefit of the hybrid pixel detector technology might be increased significantly if drift-time difference measurements would allow reconstruction of tracks in three dimensions

Three dimensional photograph of single electron tracks through a scintillator

The reconstruction of particle trajectories makes it possible to distinguish between different types of charged particles. In high-energy physics, where trajectories are rather long, large size trackers must be used to achieve sufficient position resolution. However, in low-background experiments tracks are rather short and three dimensional trajectories could only be resolved in time-projection chambers so far. For detectors of large volume and therefore large drift distances, which are inevitable for low-background experiments, this technique is limited by diffusion of charge carriers. In this work we present a "proof-of-principle" experiment for a new method for the three dimensional tracking of charged particles by scintillation light: We used a setup consisting of a scintillator, mirrors, lenses and a novel imaging device (the hybrid photo detector) in order to image two projections of electron tracks through the scintillator. We took data at the T-24 beam-line at DESY with relativistic electrons with a kinetic energy of 5 GeV and from this data successfully reconstructed their three dimensional propagetion path in the scintillator. With our setup we achieved a position resolution of about 28 mum in the best case.Comment: 9 pages, 13 figures, 1 tabl

Detection of non-classical space-time correlations with a novel type of single-photon camera

During the last decades, multi-pixel detectors have been developed capable of registering single photons. The newly developed Hybrid Photon Detector camera has a remarkable property that it has not only spatial but also temporal resolution. In this work, we use this device for the detection of non-classical light from spontaneous parametric down-conversion and use two-photon correlations for the absolute calibration of its quantum efficiency

PET/CT-guided biopsies of metabolically active bone lesions: applications and clinical impact

Purpose: In a minority of cases a definite diagnosis and stage grouping in cancer patients is not possible based on the imaging information of PET/CT. We report our experience with percutaneous PET/CT-guided bone biopsies to histologically verify the aetiology of hypermetabolic bone lesions. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the data of 20 consecutive patients who underwent multimodal image-guided bone biopsies using a dedicated PET/CT system in a step-by-step technique. Technical and clinical success rates of PET/CT-guided biopsies were evaluated. Questionnaires were sent to the referring physicians to assess the impact of biopsies on patient management and to check the clinical need for PET/CT-guided biopsies. Results: Clinical indications for biopsy were to histologically verify the aetiology of metabolically active bone lesions without a morphological correlate confirming the suspicion of metastases in 15 patients, to determine the origin of suspected metastases in 3 patients and to evaluate the appropriateness of targeted therapy options in 2 patients. Biopsies were technically successful in all patients. In 19 of 20 patients a definite histological diagnosis was possible. No complications or adverse effects occurred. The result of PET/CT-guided bone biopsies determined a change of the planned treatment in overall 56% of patients, with intramodality changes, e.g. chemotherapy with palliative instead of curative intent, and intermodality changes, e.g. systemic therapy instead of surgery, in 22 and 50%, respectively. Conclusion: PET/CT-guided bone biopsies are a promising alternative to conventional techniques to make metabolically active bone lesions—especially without a distinctive morphological correlate—accessible for histological verification. PET/CT-guided biopsies had a major clinical impact in patients who otherwise cannot be reliably stage grouped at the time of treatment decision

Optical intensity interferometry lab tests in preparation of stellar diameter measurements at IACTs at GHz photon rates

Astronomical intensity interferometry enables quantitative measurements of the source geometry by measuring the photon fluxes in individual telescopes and correlating them, rather than correlating the electromagnetic waves' amplitudes. This simplifies realization of large telescope baselines and high angular resolutions. Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescopes (IACTs), intended to detect the optical emission of $\gamma$-ray induced air showers, are excellent candidates to perform intensity correlations in the optical at reasonable signal-to-noise ratios. The detected coherence time is on the scale of $10^{-12}$ to $10^{-15}$~seconds - depending on the optical bandwidth of the measurement - which challenges the detection system to work in a stable and accurate way. We developed an intensity interferometry setup applicable to IACTs, which measures the photo currents from photomultipliers and correlates them offline, and as such is designed to handle the very large photon rates provided by the telescopes. We present measurements in the lab simulating starlight using a xenon lamp and measured at different degrees of temporal and spatial coherence. Necessary calibration procedures are described with the goal of understanding the measurements quantitatively. Measured coherence times between $5\,$femtoseconds (corresponding signal-to-background ratio $5\cdot10^{-7}$) and $110\,$femtoseconds (signal-to-background ratio $10^{-5}$) are in good agreement with expectations, and so are the noise levels in the correlations, reaching down to $6 \cdot 10^{-8}$, after measurements between $30\,$minutes and $1\,$ hour

A Microarray Analysis of Gene Expression Patterns During Early Phases of Newt Lens Regeneration

Purpose: Notophthalmus viridescens, the red-spotted newt, possesses tremendous regenerative capabilities. Among the tissues and organs newts can regenerate, the lens is regenerated via transdifferentiation of the pigment epithelial cells of the dorsal iris, following complete removal (lentectomy). Under normal conditions, the same cells from the ventral iris are not capable of regenerating. This study aims to further understand the initial signals of lens regeneration

Talbot-Lau x-ray phase-contrast setup for fast scanning of large samples

Abstract Compared to conventional attenuation x-ray radiographic imaging, the x-ray Talbot-Lau technique provides further information about the scattering and the refractive properties of the object in the beam path. Hence, this additional information should improve the diagnostic process concerning medical applications and non-destructive testing. Nevertheless, until now, due to grating fabrication process, Talbot-Lau imaging suffers from small grating sizes (70 mm diameter). This leads to long acquisition times for imaging large objects. Stitching the gratings is one solution. Another one consists of scanning Talbot-Lau setups. In this publication, we present a compact and very fast scanning setup which enables imaging of large samples. With this setup a maximal scanning velocity of 71.7 mm/s is possible. A resolution of 4.1 lines/mm can be achieved. No complex alignment procedures are necessary while the field of view comprises 17.5 × 150 cm2. An improved reconstruction algorithm concerning the scanning approach, which increases robustness with respect to mechanical instabilities, has been developed and is presented. The resolution of the setup in dependence of the scanning velocity is evaluated. The setup imaging qualities are demonstrated using a human knee ex-vivo as an example for a high absorbing human sample

Noise Reduction for Single-Shot Grating-Based Phase-Contrast Imaging at an X-ray Backlighter

X-ray backlighters allow the capture of sharp images of fast dynamic processes due to extremely short exposure times. Moiré imaging enables simultaneously measuring the absorption and differential phase-contrast (DPC) of these processes. Acquiring images with one single shot limits the X-ray photon flux, which can result in noisy images. Increasing the photon statistics by repeating the experiment to gain the same image is not possible if the investigated processes are dynamic and chaotic. Furthermore, to reconstruct the DPC and transmission image, an additional measurement captured in absence of the object is required. For these reference measurements, shot-to-shot fluctuations in X-ray spectra and a source position complicate the averaging of several reference images for noise reduction. Here, two approaches of processing multiple reference images in combination with one single object image are evaluated regarding the image quality. We found that with only five reference images, the contrast-to-noise ratio can be improved by approximately 13% in the DPC image. This promises improvements for short-exposure single-shot acquisitions of rapid processes, such as laser-produced plasma shock-waves in high-energy density experiments at backlighter X-ray sources such as the PHELIX high-power laser facility