W0197

Advanced Technologies for Next-Generation CCD Detectors. R.D. Durst, Bruker Analytical X-ray Systems, Inc., 6300 Enterprise Ln., Madison, WI 53719

CCD-based x-ray imagers have become an increasingly important tool for x-ray crystallography. The designs of all available CCD-based detectors are basically similar and follow the approach developed by pioneering researchers. While this canonical design has been highly successful, it also has definite, inherent limitations. Since the underlying technologies used in conventional CCD detectors (viz., scientific-grade CCDs, imaging fiber optics, readout electronics) are quite mature only incremental increases in the performance of this canonical design can be expected. The strengths and limitations of conventional CCD detector designs are discussed and new approaches to circumvent these limitations are developed. The design of a novel, next-generation CCD-based x-ray imager is presented which offers significantly enhanced sensitivity and dynamic range, together with faster readout rates and increased reliability.