US-12618989-B2 - Semiconductor radiation detector assembly

US12618989B2US 12618989 B2US12618989 B2US 12618989B2US-12618989-B2

Abstract

Disclosed is a header for a radiation detector assembly provided for mounting a detector head into an enclosure formed by the header and a detector can to form the radiation detector assembly. The detector head includes a semiconductor radiation detector arranged on a first side of a substrate and a thermoelectric cooler, TEC, arranged on a second side of the substrate, the header including: a base plate having a first side for mounting the TEC and a second side with an attachment mechanism for attaching the radiation detector assembly to a radiation-detecting appliance; contact pins that provide electrical coupling through the base plate protruding from the first side of the base plate to substantially define a rim for accommodating the TEC within the rim; and a draining outlet with an opening through the base plate between its first and second sides transferring a gas to and/or from the enclosure.

Inventors

Seppo Nenonen
Hans Andersson

Assignees

OXFORD INSTRUMENTS TECHNOLOGIES OY

Dates

Publication Date: 20260505
Application Date: 20230522
Priority Date: 20220523

Claims (15)

1 . A header for mounting a detector head into an enclosure formed by the header and a detector can to form a radiation detector assembly, the detector head including a semiconductor radiation detector disposed on a first side of a substrate and a thermoelectric cooler (TEC), disposed on a second side of the substrate, the header comprising: a base plate having a first side to mount the TEC and a second side provided with an attachment mechanism configured to attach the radiation detector assembly to a radiation-detecting appliance; a plurality of contact pins that provide electrical coupling through the base plate configured to protrude from the first side of the base plate such that the contact pins substantially define a rim configured to accommodate the TEC within the rim; and a draining outlet comprising an opening through the base plate between first and second sides thereof to transfer a gaseous substance to and/or from the enclosure, the opening through the base plate being routed through the attachment mechanism.
2 . The header according to claim 1 , wherein the attachment mechanism comprises an attachment bolt.
3 . The header according to claim 2 , wherein the draining outlet further comprises a tube section protruding from the attachment mechanism.
4 . The header according to claim 1 , wherein the base plate comprises a rim section that protrudes from the first side of the base plate and surrounds the opening through the base plate such that is serves as part of the draining outlet, thereby facilitating positioning of the TEC having a recess that has a shape and a size substantially matching a shape and a size of the rim section in its surface configured to face the first side of the base plate.
5 . The header according to claim 1 , wherein the base plate comprises a plurality of holes therethrough, and the plurality of contact pins are fitted into respective ones of the plurality of holes through the base plate via respective insulator sleeves.
6 . A radiation detector assembly comprising: the header according to claim 1 ; a detector head including a semiconductor radiation detector disposed on a first side of a substrate and a thermoelectric cooler disposed on a second side of the substrate, the detector head disposed on the header such that the TEC is mounted on the first side of the base plate within the rim defined by the plurality of contact pins; and a detector attached to the base plate such that an enclosure including the detector head is formed, the draining outlet thereby connecting said enclosure to an exterior of the enclosure through the base plate to transfer a gaseous substance to and/or from the enclosure.
7 . A method for constructing a radiation detector assembly, the method comprising: providing a header comprising: a base plate having a first side configured to mount a thermoelectric cooler (TEC) of a detector head and a second side provided with an attachment mechanism configured to attach the radiation detector assembly to a radiation-detecting appliance, a plurality of contact pins that provide electrical coupling through the base plate and that are configured to protrude from the first side of the base plate such that the contact pins substantially define a rim to accommodate the TEC within the rim, and a draining outlet comprising an opening through the base plate between the first and second sides thereof; attaching the detector head including a semiconductor radiation detector disposed on a first side of a substrate and the TEC disposed on a second side of the substrate on the header such that the TEC is mounted on the first side of the base plate within the rim defined by the plurality of contact pins; and attaching a detector can to the base plate such that an enclosure including the detector head is formed, the draining outlet thereby connecting said enclosure to an exterior of the enclosure through the base plate to transfer a gaseous substance to and/or from the enclosure.
8 . The method according to claim 7 , wherein a surface of the TEC configured to face the first side of the base plate comprises an opening, and wherein attaching the detector head on the header comprises aligning said opening in the surface of the TEC with the opening through the base plate.
9 . The method according to claim 8 , wherein the base plate comprises a rim section that protrudes from the first side of the base plate and surrounds the opening through the base plate such that the rim section serves as part of the draining outlet, wherein said opening in the surface of the TEC configured to face the first side of the base plate has a shape and a size substantially matching a shape and a size of the rim section, and wherein attaching the detector head on the header comprises aligning said recess with said rim section.
10 . The method according to claim 7 , wherein the attachment mechanism comprises an attachment bolt.
11 . The method according to claim 7 , wherein the draining outlet further comprises a tube section protruding from the attachment mechanism.
12 . The method according to claim 7 , further comprising: pumping air out of said enclosure via the draining outlet to create a vacuum into the enclosure; and closing the draining outlet to hermetically seal the enclosure.
13 . The method according to claim 11 , further comprising: pumping air out of said enclosure via the draining outlet to create a vacuum into the enclosure; closing the tube section of the draining outlet in a desired position to hermetically seal the enclosure; and cutting off a portion of the tube section that is further away from the base plate than the desired position.
14 . The method according to claim 12 , further comprising supplying, after having created the vacuum into the enclosure, a desired amount of gas or gas mixture of desired characteristics via the draining outlet to the enclosure.
15 . The method according to claim 13 , further comprising supplying, after having created the vacuum into the enclosure, a desired amount of gas or gas mixture of desired characteristics via the draining outlet to the enclosure.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This application claims the priority under 35 USC 119(a) of Finnish patent application 20225452 filed on May 23, 2022, the entirety of which is incorporated herein by reference. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a semiconductor radiation detector assembly. Description of the Related Art A semiconductor radiation detector may be applied as a component for detecting radiation (ionizing radiation or non-ionizing radiation), such as gamma rays, X-rays, ultraviolet (UV) radiation, visible radiation or charged particle radiation, e.g. in an analyzer device, in a spectrometer or in an electron microscope. A semiconductor radiation detector typically operates to output an electrical measurement signal that is descriptive of the detected level of incident radiation. Non-limiting examples of semiconductor radiation detectors include a semiconductor drift detector (SDD) and a PIN diode that each include a collector electrode arranged on one surface of a semiconductor block and a field electrode arrangement arranged on at least on an opposite surface of the semiconductor block to create an electric field for driving signal charges (e.g. electrons) generated in the semiconductor block due to incident radiation to the collector electrode such that the measurement signal can be read out from the collector electrode. For practical applications, the semiconductor radiation detector is typically provided as a part of a detector head that may include the semiconductor radiation detector attached on one side of a substrate that provides electrical connections for supplying the measurement signal generated in the semiconductor radiation detector to a radiation-detecting appliance. The detector head typically also includes a thermo-electric cooler (TEC) attached on the other side of the substrate. The detector head may be coupled to the radiation-detecting appliance via a so-called header, whereas an arrangement of the detector head and the header may be referred to as a radiation detector assembly. The header may include a base plate provided with a plurality of contact pins that go through holes arranged in the base plate, whereas the detector head may be mounted on the base plate such that the TEC is surrounded by the contact pins that may be electrically coupled to the semiconductor radiation detector (via the substrate) to enable electrical connection(s) between the semiconductor radiation detector and the radiation-detecting appliance. The header may further include an attachment mechanism for mounting the radiation detector assembly to the radiation-detecting appliance. The detector head may be covered by a detector can arranged on the base plate such that the base plate and the detector can provide a hermetically sealed enclosure around the detector head. In this regard, a front face of the detector can may be provided with an opening covered by a radiation window to enable the incoming radiation to enter the enclosure and meet the radiation-detecting surface of the semiconductor radiation therein. Typically, in order to ensure reliable and undisturbed detection of incident radiation by operation of the semiconductor radiation detector in such a radiation detector assembly, the hermetically sealed enclosure inside the detector can is filled with a certain gas or gas mixture or a vacuum is created therein. Filling the enclosure with the certain gas or gas mixture or creating a vacuum therein (e.g. via usage of a vacuum pump) when attaching the detector can to the base plate upon construction of the radiation detector assembly is a non-trivial procedure that is prone to errors and in many occasions leads into compromised results and hence approaches that facilitate filling the enclosure with the gas or gas mixture of desired characteristics or creation of a vacuum into the enclosure in a reliable manner would be highly desirable. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a radiation detector assembly having a structure that facilitates filling the hermetically sealed enclosure between the detector can and the base plate of the header with a gas or gas mixture of desired characteristics or creating a vacuum into the enclosure in a reliable and straightforward manner. According to an example embodiment, a header for a radiation detector assembly is provided, wherein the header is provided for mounting a detector head into an enclosure formed by the header and a detector can to form a radiation detector assembly, wherein the detector head comprises a semiconductor radiation detector arranged on a first side of a substrate and a thermoelectric cooler (TEC) arranged on a second side of the substrate, the header comprising: a base plate having a first side for mounting the TEC and a second side provided with an attachment mechanism for attaching the radiation detector assembly to a radiation-detec