Imaging detector

1. An imaging detector for detecting ionizing radiation, such as X-rays or electrons, in a predetermined energy range, comprising:

a read-out chip including read-out circuitry; and

a sensor for absorbing ionizing radiation over a plurality of pixels, the sensor being electrically connected to the read-out chip; wherein

the read-out chip has circuitry to record a pulse in a pixel when it detects a charge excited by a photon or electron greater than a threshold charge; and

the sensor includes a plurality of sensor material layers of different materials stacked on top of one another, having differing radiation absorbing properties, wherein the plurality of sensor material layers absorbs at least 70% of incident radiation across the predetermined energy range;

wherein the sensor material layers include a first sensor material layer of a first semiconductor, a second sensor material layer of a second semiconductor and a buffer layer between the first sensor material layer and the second sensor material layer, wherein the buffer layer has a graded composition varying from the material of the first sensor material layer to the material of the second sensor material layer.

2. A detector according to claim 1 , wherein the first and second material layers have the properties that ionizing radiation in the predetermined energy range generates at least a first charge when absorbed in the first material layer and generates at least a second charge when absorbed in the second material layer; and the threshold charge is between 45% and 60% of the higher of the first charge and the second charge.

3. A detector according to claim 2 , wherein the read-out chip is arranged to generate a voltage pulse corresponding to the amount of charge when ionising radiation is detected, to compare the voltage pulse with a threshold, and only to count pulses for which the voltage pulse exceeds the threshold.

4. A detector according to claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of sensor material layers absorbs at least 20% of incident radiation at at least one energy in the predetermined energy range.

5. A detector according to claim 1 , wherein the first sensor material layer is adjacent to the read-out chip and the second sensor material layer is on the first sensor material layer, wherein the second sensor material layer absorbs at least 30% of incident radiation over the predetermined energy range, preferably 50% of incident radiation.

6. A detector according to claim 1 , wherein the sensor material layers include one material layer of Si and the other material layer of Ge or SiGe.

7. A detector as in any of the preceeding claims, wherein the first sensor material layer is Si and the second sensor material layer of Ge or SiGe.

8. A detector according to claim 1 having multiple layers, including alternating first and second material layers and buffer layers between the first and second material layers.

9. A detector according to claim 8 including at least two first material layers and at least two second material layers.

10. A detector according to claim 1 , further comprising a capping layer on the top of the second material layer.

11. A detector according to claim 10 , wherein the capping layer is a layer of Si having a thickness in the range 1 μm to 10 μm.

12. A detector according to claim 10 , further comprising an ohmic contact formed in the capping layer.

13. A detector according to claim 1 , wherein the sensor includes a plurality of conductive rods extending through the first sensor material layer and the second sensor material layer, the rods being connected to the read-out chip.

14. A detector according to claim 13 wherein at least one of the first and second sensor material layers is amorphous.

15. A detector according to claim 14 wherein the amorphous second sensor material layer is of amorphous selenium.

16. A detector according to claim 1 , wherein the read-out chip includes a plurality of read-out circuits each electrically connected to a single pixel.