Synchrotron Area X-ray Detectors, Present and Future

X-ray experiments are very frequently detector limited at today’s storage ring synchrotron radiation (SR) sources, and will be even more so at future Energy Recovery Linac and X-ray Free Electron Laser sources. Image plate and phosphor-coupled CCD detectors that predominate at present-day sources were outgrowths of technologies initially developed for the medical and astronomical communities, respectively, with resultant limitations for SR. These limitations are enumerated. The growth of commercial silicon foundries and design tools enabling the production of large, customized integrated circuits is beginning to have a profound impact on SR detectors and is ushering in the age of “designer detectors”. Novel area Pixel Array Detectors (PADs) are starting to appear in which each pixel has dedicated, complex circuitry capable of high speed and, in some cases, significant data processing power for specific applications. PADs now at, or near the horizon will be described. Integrated circuit methods continue to develop at a rapid pace. Implications for future x-ray detectors will be discussed.