• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
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• 2008.06a
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• pp.32-32
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• 2008

X-ray detector는 의료용, 산업용 등 다양한 분야에서 사용되어지고 있으며 기존의 Analog X-ray 방식의 환경오염, 저장공간 부족, 실시간 분석의 어려움 등의 문제점들을 해결하기 위하여 Digital X-ray로의 전환과 연구가 활발하며 이에 따른 관심도 높아지고 있는 살점이다. Digital X-ray detector는 p-영역과 n-영역 사이에 아무런 불순물을 도핑하지 않은 진성반도체(intrinsic semiconductor) 층을 접합시킨 이종접합 PIN 구조의 photodiode 이다. 이 소자는 역바이어스를 가해주면 p영역과 n영역 사이에서 캐리어 (carrier)가 존재하지 않는 공핍 영역이 발생하게 된다. 이런 공핍 영역에서 광흡수가 일어나면, 전자-정공 쌍이 발생한다. 그리고, 발생한 전자-정공 쌍에 전압이 역방향으로 인가되는 경우, 전자는 양의 전극으로 이동하고, 정공은 음의 전극으로 이동한다. 이와 같이, 발생한 캐리어들을 검출하여 전기적인 신호로 변환 시킨다. 고해상도의 Digital X-ray detector를 만들기 위해서는 누설전류에 의한 noise 감소와 소자의 높은 안정성과 내구성을 위한 높은 breakdown voltage를 가져야 한다. 본 연구에서는 Digital X-ray detector의 leakage current 감소와 breakdown voltage를 높이기 위하여 guradring과 gettering technology를 사용하여 전기적 특성을 분석하였다. 기판으로는 $10k\Omega{\cdot}cm$ resistivity를 갖으며, n-type <111>인 1mm 두께의 4인치 Si wafer를 사용하였다. 그리고 pixel pitch는 $100{\mu}m$이며 active area는 $80{\mu}m{\times}80{\mu}m$인 $32\times32$ array를 형성하여 X-ray를 조사하여 소자의 특성을 평가 하였다.

• Progress in Medical Physics
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.105-110
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• 2016

Sparse angular sampling has been studied recently owing to its potential to decrease the radiation exposure from computed tomography (CT). In this study, we investigated the analytic reconstruction algorithm in sparse angular sampling using the sinogram interpolation method for improving image quality and computation speed. A prototype of the spectral CT system, which has a 64-pixel Cadmium Zinc Telluride (CZT)-based photon-counting detector, was used. The source-to-detector distance and the source-to-center of rotation distance were 1,200 and 1,015 mm, respectively. Two energy bins (23~33 keV and 34~44 keV) were set to obtain two reconstruction images. We used a PMMA phantom with height and radius of 50.0 mm and 17.5 mm, respectively. The phantom contained iodine, gadolinium, calcification, and lipid. The Feld-kamp-Davis-Kress (FDK) with the sinogram interpolation method and Maximum Likelihood Expectation Maximization (MLEM) algorithm were used to reconstruct the images. We evaluated the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the materials. The SNRs of iodine, calcification, and liquid lipid were increased by 167.03%, 157.93%, and 41.77%, respectively, with the 23~33 keV energy bin using the sinogram interpolation method. The SNRs of iodine, calcification, and liquid state lipid were also increased by 107.01%, 13.58%, and 27.39%, respectively, with the 34~44 keV energy bin using the sinogram interpolation method. Although the FDK algorithm with the sinogram interpolation did not produce better results than the MLEM algorithm, it did result in comparable image quality to that of the MLEM algorithm. We believe that the sinogram interpolation method can be applied in various reconstruction studies using the analytic reconstruction algorithm. Therefore, the sinogram interpolation method can improve the image quality in sparse-angular sampling and be applied to CT applications.

• Proceedings of the KIEE Conference
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• 1989.11a
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• pp.512-514
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• 1989

A time-correlated single photon counting system combined with a mode locked $Ar^+$ laser has been utilized to measure the fluorescence decay. A side-on type photomultiplier tube has been used as a photon detector. By restricting the sensitive area and the position of the photocathode, the transit time differencies of photoelectrons in PMT has been reduced. The fluorescence life time of rhodamin 6G in ethylene glycol measured 3.9$\pm$10 ns.

• Korean Journal of Optics and Photonics
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• v.14 no.6
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• pp.573-577
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• 2003

We report an effect of photon pairs on single-photon detection rates, while Hong-Ou-Handel's two-photon interference experiment is performed with photons produced in noncollinear type-I parametric down-conversion. Photon pairing behavior or spatial bunching is measured and shown to cause a decrease in the single photon counting rate. Such a dip is found to result from the fact that the single-photon timing resolution of photodetectors is much longer compared to the time interval between the two photons incident on the single-photon detector.

• Progress in Superconductivity and Cryogenics
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.22-25
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• 2017

Superconducting nanowire single photon detectors (SNSPD) have become the most competent photon-counting devices in wide range of wavelengths. Especially in the communication wavelength (infrared), SNSPD has shown unbeatable superior performance compared to the state-of-art semiconductor single photon detectors. The technology has matured enough for the last decade so that several commercial systems are now almost ready for routine use in general optics experiments. Here we summarize briefly the recent progress in this research field, and hope to motivate further research on the improvement of the device and the system. We cover the basic key concepts, device and system performances, remaining issues and possible further research directions of SNSPD.

• Korean Journal of Optics and Photonics
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.90-99
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• 1994

Picosecond time-correlated single photon counting system and time-resolved luminescence spectrometer were constructed, employing a mode-locked picosecond laser, fast electronics, and microchannel plate tube. It has been shown that the instrument response function critically depends on laser pulse shape, timing jitter and walk of the electronics, and characteristics of detector and amplifier. Correcting time dispersion in the optical system, the best instrument response function obtained appears to be 25 ps, which made it possible to measure the luminescence lifetime with less than 10 ps resolution in the picosecond to microsecond range. range.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.24 no.10
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• pp.1006-1016
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• 2023

Objective: Computed tomography (CT) is an established method for the diagnosis, staging, and treatment of multiple myeloma. Here, we investigated the potential of photon-counting detector computed tomography (PCD-CT) in terms of image quality, diagnostic confidence, and radiation dose compared with energy-integrating detector CT (EID-CT). Materials and Methods: In this prospective study, patients with known multiple myeloma underwent clinically indicated whole-body PCD-CT. The image quality of PCD-CT was assessed qualitatively by three independent radiologists for overall image quality, edge sharpness, image noise, lesion conspicuity, and diagnostic confidence using a 5-point Likert scale (5 = excellent), and quantitatively for signal homogeneity using the coefficient of variation (CV) of Hounsfield Units (HU) values and modulation transfer function (MTF) via the full width at half maximum (FWHM) in the frequency space. The results were compared with those of the current clinical standard EID-CT protocols as controls. Additionally, the radiation dose (CTDIvol) was determined. Results: We enrolled 35 patients with multiple myeloma (mean age 69.8 ± 9.1 years; 18 [51%] males). Qualitative image analysis revealed superior scores (median [interquartile range]) for PCD-CT regarding overall image quality (4.0 [4.0-5.0] vs. 4.0 [3.0-4.0]), edge sharpness (4.0 [4.0-5.0] vs. 4.0 [3.0-4.0]), image noise (4.0 [4.0-4.0] vs. 3.0 [3.0-4.0]), lesion conspicuity (4.0 [4.0-5.0] vs. 4.0 [3.0-4.0]), and diagnostic confidence (4.0 [4.0-5.0] vs. 4.0 [3.0-4.0]) compared with EID-CT (P ≤ 0.004). In quantitative image analyses, PCD-CT compared with EID-CT revealed a substantially lower FWHM (2.89 vs. 25.68 cy/pixel) and a significantly more homogeneous signal (mean CV ± standard deviation [SD], 0.99 ± 0.65 vs. 1.66 ± 0.5; P < 0.001) at a significantly lower radiation dose (mean CTDIvol ± SD, 3.33 ± 0.82 vs. 7.19 ± 3.57 mGy; P < 0.001). Conclusion: Whole-body PCD-CT provides significantly higher subjective and objective image quality at significantly reduced radiation doses than the current clinical standard EID-CT protocols, along with readily available multi-spectral data, facilitating the potential for further advanced post-processing.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Medical Physics Conference
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• 2002.09a
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• pp.411-414
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• 2002

The CdTe semiconductor detector has a higher detection efficiency for x-rays and $\square$amma rays and a wider energy band gap compared with Si and Ge semiconductor detectors. Therefore, the size of the detector element can be made small, and can be operated at room temperature. The interaction between a CdTe detector and incident x-rays is mainly photoelectric absorption in the photon energy range of up to 100 keV. In this energy range, Compton effects are almost negligible. We have developed a 256 channel CdTe array detector system for monochromatic x-ray CT using synchrotron radiation. The CdTe array detector system, the element size of which is 1.98 mm (h) x 1.98 mm (w) x 0.5 mm (t), was operated in photon counting mode. In order to improve the spatial resolution, we tilted the CdTe array detector against the incident parallel monochromatic x-ray beam. The experiments were performed at the BL20B2 experimental hutch in SPring-8. The energy of incident monochromatic x-rays was set at 55 keV. Phantom measurements were performed at the detector angle of 0, 30 and 45 degrees against the incident parallel monochromatic x-rays. The linear attenuation coefficients were calculated from the reconstructed CT images. By increasing the detector angle, the spatial resolutions were improved. There was no significant difference between the linear attenuation coefficients which were corrected by the detector angle. It was found that this method was useful for improving the spatial resolution in a parallel monochromatic x-ray CT system.

• Journal of radiological science and technology
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• v.40 no.3
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• pp.443-451
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• 2017

Mammography is commonly used for screening early breast cancer. However, mammographic images, which depend on the physical properties of breast components, are limited to provide information about whether a lesion is malignant or benign. Although a dual-energy subtraction technique decomposes a certain material from a mixture, it increases radiation dose and degrades the accuracy of material decomposition. In this study, we simulated a breast phantom using attenuation characteristics, and we proposed a technique to enable the accurate material decomposition by applying weighting factors for the dual-energy mammography based on a photon-counting detector using a Monte Carlo simulation tool. We also evaluated the contrast and noise of simulated breast images for validating the proposed technique. As a result, the contrast for a malignant tumor in the dual-energy weighted subtraction technique was 0.98 and 1.06 times similar than those in the general mammography and dual-energy subtraction techniques, respectively. However the contrast between malignant and benign tumors dramatically increased 13.54 times due to the low contrast of a benign tumor. Therefore, the proposed technique can increase the material decomposition accuracy for malignant tumor and improve the diagnostic accuracy of mammography.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.523-530
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• 2019

The purpose of this study was to obtain the K-edge images using a spectral CT system based on a photon-counting detector and implement the 3D fusion imaging using the conventional and spectral CT images. Also, we evaluated the clinical feasibility of the 3D fusion images though the quantitative analysis of image quality. A spectral CT system based on a CdTe photon-counting detector was used to obtain K-edge images. A pork phantom was manufactured with the six tubes including diluted iodine and gadolinium solutions. The K-edge images were obtained by the low-energy thresholds of 35 and 52 keV for iodine and gadolinium imaging with the X-ray spectrum, which was generated at a tube voltage of 100 kVp with a tube current of $500{\mu}A$. We implemented 3D fusion imaging by combining the iodine and gadolinium K-edge images with the conventional CT images. The results showed that the CNRs of the 3D fusion images were 6.76-14.9 times higher than those of the conventional CT images. Also, the 3D fusion images was able to provide the maps of target materials. Therefore, the technique proposed in this study can improve the quality of CT images and the diagnostic efficiency through the additional information of target materials.