Fourier analysis of the imaging characteristics of a CMOS active pixel detector for mammography by using a linearization method

Abstract

Active pixel design using the complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) process is a compelling solution for use in X-ray imaging detectors because of its excellent electronic noise characteristics. We have investigated the imaging performance of a CMOS active pixel photodiode array coupled to a granular phosphor through a fiber-optic faceplate for mammographic applications. The imaging performance included the modulation-transfer function (MTF), noise-power spectrum (NPS), and detective quantum efficiency (DQE). Because we observed a nonlinear detector response at low exposures, we used the linearization method for the analysis of the DQE. The linearization method uses the images obtained at detector input, which are converted from those obtained at detector output by using the inverse of the detector response. Compared to the conventional method, the linearization method provided almost the same MTF and a slightly lower normalized NPS. However, the difference between the DQE results obtained by using the two methods was significant. We claim that the conventional DQE analysis of a detector having a nonlinear response characteristic can yield wrong results. Under the standard mammographic imaging condition, we obtained a DQE performance that was competitive with the performances of conventional flat-panel mammography detectors. We believe that the CMOS detector investigated in this study can be successfully used for mammography.