Extending the Optogeometric Factor to Non-Thermal Sources: Fundamental SNR in X-ray Imaging
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: The optogeometric factor, introduced as a pixel-level form of étendue, provides a compact measure of the spatial angular throughput of a detector element. In previous work, optogeometric factor was combined with Bose Einstein statistics to derive a fundamental limit for the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) in thermal infrared imaging. Here this framework is extended to non-thermal sources, with a focus on bremsstrahlung (X-ray) radiation. By interpreting optogeometric factor as a mode count, and replacing the thermal occupancy with the spectral photon flux of an X-ray tube, a fundamental shot-noise limit for SNR is obtained. In the geometry-limited regime relevant for X-ray detectors, the result shows that the pixel-level SNR scales with 1/f\# but is independent of pixel pitch. This extension demonstrates the generality of the optogeometric factor and provides a unified mode-based framework for evaluating quantum-limited performance across both thermal and non-thermal imaging modalities.
Authors: Sova, Jan, Kolarikova, Marie
Institution: Czech Technical University in Prague
Language: English
Subfield: Electrical and Electronic Engineering
Field: Engineering
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7078401518
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