Flexible Radiation Detector with Segmented Reinforcing Substrates
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Solution Overview
Problem
Radiographic imaging apparatuses using flexible base materials face defects such as peeling of the conversion layer from the substrate and damage to pixels due to deflection, and existing solutions like electromagnetic shields and support bodies do not adequately address these issues, particularly during reworking processes.
Innovation Solution
A radiation detector design featuring a flexible base material with a conversion layer outside the terminal region, a first reinforcing substrate with higher stiffness on the conversion layer side, and a second reinforcing substrate covering a larger surface area on the opposite side, along with a buffer layer to manage thermal expansion differences, to prevent defects and enhance peeling properties during reworking.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Weight of moving object
If a flexible base material is used to reduce weight and improve ease of imaging, then the weight of the radiographic imaging apparatus is reduced and a subject may be easily imaged, but a defect occurs in the substrate such that the conversion layer may be peeled off from the substrate or the pixels may be damaged due to the influence of deflection of the flexible base material
Solution Approach 1:
The base material is divided into a pixel region and a terminal region, with the conversion layer selectively provided only in the pixel region. This segmentation allows the terminal region to remain flexible for cable connection while the pixel region maintains structural integrity for radiation detection, preventing peeling and pixel damage.
Solution Approach 2:
The conversion layer is provided locally only in the pixel region and excluded from the terminal region. This local quality approach ensures that the flexible base material maintains its flexibility in the terminal region for cable reworking while providing the necessary radiation conversion function in the pixel region, thus preventing substrate defects.
2Reliability
If a reinforcing substrate is provided on the conversion layer side to suppress substrate defects, then substrate defects are suppressed, but the reinforcing substrate becomes an obstacle when reworking is performed and peeling property in reworking process deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The base material is segmented into pixel region and terminal region, with the conversion layer and reinforcing structures selectively positioned in the pixel region only. This segmentation ensures that the terminal region remains free of reinforcing substrates, maintaining excellent peeling properties for cable reworking while the pixel region benefits from defect suppression.
Solution Approach 2:
The conversion layer and reinforcing substrate are extracted from the terminal region and retained only in the pixel region. This extraction eliminates the obstacle effect in the terminal region during reworking processes while maintaining the structural support and defect suppression functions in the pixel region.
3Reliability
If the conversion layer is provided over the entire surface including terminal region, then radiation conversion function is maximized, but the flexible base material cannot be properly reworked and cable connection becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The base material surface is segmented into pixel region and terminal region, with the conversion layer selectively provided only in the pixel region. This segmentation preserves the radiation conversion function in the pixel region while keeping the terminal region free for cable connection and reworking operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The conversion layer is applied with local quality, appearing only in the pixel region where radiation detection is needed and absent from the terminal region where flexibility and reworking capability are required. This local presence optimizes both radiation conversion and ease of repair.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution effectively suppresses substrate defects and maintains excellent peeling properties during reworking, ensuring the radiation detector's reliability and functionality.
Implementation Method 1
a conversion layer, such as a scintillator, which converts radiation into light
Implementation Method 2
a buffer layer to manage thermal expansion differences
Data Source
AI summary
Provided are a radiation detector, a radiographic imaging apparatus, and a manufacturing method that include a TFT substrate in which a plurality of pixels that accumulate electric charges generated depending on light converted from radiation are formed in a pixel region of a first surface of a flexible base material and a terminal region of the first surface is provided with a terminal for electrically connecting a flexible cable; a conversion layer that is provided outside the terminal region on the first surface of the base material to convert the radiation into light; a first reinforcing substrate that is provided on a surface of the conversion layer opposite to a surface on a TFT substrate side and has a higher stiffness than the base material; and a second reinforcing substrate that is provided on a second surface of the base material opposite to the first surface to cover a surface larger than the first reinforcing substrate, and that are capable of suppressing that a defect occurs in the substrate and have an excellent peeling property in a reworking process.