Characterizing pyroelectric detectors for quantitative synchrotron radiation measurements

This paper describes the fabrication and quantitative characterization of pyroelectric detectors for the measurement of the intensity of synchrotron radiation in the challenging hard X-ray region (5–20 keV). The measurement of this radiation requires robust detectors with high signal-to-noise ratios. Our study examines the response and noise characteristics in this spectral region of pyroelectric detectors made with three contrasting ferroelectric materials: LiTaO₃ (LT), LiNbO₃ (LN) and triglycine sulphate (TGS). The key parameters of voltage responsivity(R_v), noise equivalent power (NEP), and detectivity (D*) are analysed across a frequency range of 1 Hz to 100 Hz, with a photon energy of 17 keV. The detector made with TGS emerges exhibited the best radiometric performance with an R_v of 7.09 × 10 ³ V/W and an NEP 1.75 × 10⁻⁸ W/√Hz at 10 Hz, which is comparable with conventional X-ray scintillation detectors. In comparison, a detector using LT demonstrated an R_vof 1.8 × 10³ V/W and an NEP of 5.02 × 10⁻⁸ W/√Hz under similar conditions. The LN-based device was ca 3–4 times lower in response than the LT device. All experimental measurements showed excellent agreement with theoretical predictions, indicating that predictions of potential device design improvements using these models should be highly reliable. The LT devices showed excellent linearity of response. LT also possesses a much higher depolarization temperature and is considerably more robust than TGS. These findings open new avenues for enhancing X-ray detection capabilities, particularly in challenging synchrotron environments where traditional detectors may face limitations.