The Optical Spectrograph and InfraRed Imaging System (OSIRIS) satellite instrument spearheaded by a team of researchers at the University of Saskatchewan has provided scientists with 13 years of information about the state of the atmosphere. The success of the mission has motivated further development of the technology in a next generation instrument called the Canadian Atmospheric Tomography System (CATS) to provide better spatial and spectral resolution through a successive satellite mission. This work details the development of a proof-of-concept prototype built to test the validity of the CATS optical design. This thesis project utilized the developmental model built for the OSIRIS mission. The major modification made to the instrument replaced the optical element that defines the instrument’s field of view. This new development transformed the original single line of sight utilized by the satellite based OSIRIS instrument into three separate fields of view, which increased the imaging capabilities of the instrument. The new system has improved spatial resolution by collecting spectral information from three separate regions in the atmosphere in a single exposure, as opposed to the single region imaged by the original system. The newly developed prototype was tested on the platform of a stratospheric balloon. This test platform offered the capabilities to make limb scattered measurements similar to those that are made by a satellite based instrument. However, from the balloon geometry, the instrument required an additional pointing system to redirect the line of sight over stratospheric tangent altitudes. The design and test of this pointing system is also detailed in this work.

The development of remote sensing satellite-borne instrumentation for the study of the Earth’s atmosphere has provided an immense increase in our understanding of atmospheric trends and processes. The Canadian built OSIRIS satellite instrument uses the limb scatter technique to measure scattered sunlight for the retrieval of vertical profiles of atmospheric species such as ozone. Recently, the next generation instrument, CATS, based on the OSIRIS design, is under development to continue OSIRIS measurements into the future. One key optical design change for CATS is the ability to measure simultaneously over multiple fields of view. However, this new optical design concept needs to be tested and evaluated. To achieve this, a prototype slit plate was installed into the preflight developmental version of OSIRIS, called OSIRIS-DM, for testing in the laboratory and on a stratospheric balloon. In this thesis work, an evaluation of the performance of this multi-slit instrument was undertaken through laboratory calibrations and limb scatter measurement collection. The calibration process includes a wavelength registration, a spectral point spread function analysis, a relative calibration and an absolute calibration, all performed with laboratory equipment. Along with laboratory calibrations, this thesis work involved preparation for the stratospheric balloon mission including the development of a flight ready electronic control and communication system to operate OSIRIS-DM during the mission. The upgraded instrument was launched on September 19, 2014, and ascended to a stable float altitude of 36.5 km. The collected flight measurements were used to evaluate the calibrations and general instrument performance. Overall, the laboratory calibrations proved to be sufficiently accurate and the measurement collection produced multiple spectra that may be used for atmospheric analysis in the future. These results show that the multi-slit design of the slit plate produces an instrument that can be reliably calibrated and implemented for limb scatter measurement collection.

Digital imaging systems for medical applications must bebased upon highly efficient detectors to ensure low patientdose. This is particularly important in screening mammographybecause of the large number healthy women that is examined. Amammography system must also provide high spatial and contrastresolution. Different approaches are compared in this thesis,and it is argued that a system based on photon countingdetectors in a scanned multi-slit geometry provides aperformance superior to established technologies. The system is realized using silicon strip detectorsirradiated at a small angle relative to the wafer surface,thereby offering large absorption depth. A linear pixelarray isscanned across the breast to obtain the complete image.Pulse-processing electronics rejecting all detector andelectronics noise count the number of photons that aredetected, forming the pixel values of the image. Optimization of the detector design is discussed in detail.The detector has been carefully simulated to investigate chargemotion and signal formation after photoninteraction. Based onthese simulations, the impact of the detector characteristicson the image quality has been evaluated. Detectors have been manufactured and evaluated both assingle components and as part of experimental imaging devicesincluding custom readout electronics. Presented in this thesisare the measured detector characteristics including a verifi-cation of charge collection efficiency and confirmation thatthe quantum efficiency is 90% for a typical mammographyspectrum. Modulation transfer functions and noise power spectrawere recorded and the detective quantum efficiency calculated.A prototype mammography system was also assembled and themodulation transfer function recorded. The interpretation ofthe modulation transfer function and detective quantumefficiency is discussed for digital systems in general and fora scanned multi-slit system in particular. <b>Keywords:</b>x-ray, imaging, silicon, detector, digital,mammography, scanning, photon counting.

<p>Digital imaging systems for medical applications must bebased upon highly efficient detectors to ensure low patientdose. This is particularly important in screening mammographybecause of the large number healthy women that is examined. Amammography system must also provide high spatial and contrastresolution. Different approaches are compared in this thesis,and it is argued that a system based on photon countingdetectors in a scanned multi-slit geometry provides aperformance superior to established technologies.</p><p>The system is realized using silicon strip detectorsirradiated at a small angle relative to the wafer surface,thereby offering large absorption depth. A linear pixelarray isscanned across the breast to obtain the complete image.Pulse-processing electronics rejecting all detector andelectronics noise count the number of photons that aredetected, forming the pixel values of the image.</p><p>Optimization of the detector design is discussed in detail.The detector has been carefully simulated to investigate chargemotion and signal formation after photoninteraction. Based onthese simulations, the impact of the detector characteristicson the image quality has been evaluated.</p><p>Detectors have been manufactured and evaluated both assingle components and as part of experimental imaging devicesincluding custom readout electronics. Presented in this thesisare the measured detector characteristics including a verifi-cation of charge collection efficiency and confirmation thatthe quantum efficiency is 90% for a typical mammographyspectrum. Modulation transfer functions and noise power spectrawere recorded and the detective quantum efficiency calculated.A prototype mammography system was also assembled and themodulation transfer function recorded. The interpretation ofthe modulation transfer function and detective quantumefficiency is discussed for digital systems in general and fora scanned multi-slit system in particular.</p><p><b>Keywords:</b>x-ray, imaging, silicon, detector, digital,mammography, scanning, photon counting.</p>

L'hadronthérapie joue un rôle de plus en plus important au sein des techniques de radiothérapie grâce aux propriétés balistiques des ions et, dans le cas de ceux plus lourds que les protons, à une augmentation de l'efficacité biologique dans la région tumorale. Ces caractéristiques permettent une meilleure conformation de la dose délivrée au volume tumoral et elles permettent en particulier de traiter des tumeurs radio-résistantes. Elles conduisent cependant à une grande sensibilité du parcours des ions aux incertitudes du traitement. C'est dans ce contexte qu'a été proposée la détection de radiations secondaires émises lors des interactions nucléaires induites par les ions incidents dans le patient. La tomographie par émission de positons et la détection des rayons gamma prompts ont notamment fait l'objet d'une recherche intense ces dernières années. Le réseau de formation européen ENTERVISION, soutenu par la communauté ENLIGHT, a été crée fin 2009 pour développer ce type d'imagerie et, plus généralement, traiter les incertitudes de traitement en hadronthérapie. Le travail présenté dans ce manuscrit et intitulé ≪ Modélisation et simulation des processus physiques pour l'imagerie en ligne de l'hadronthérapie ≫ est l'un des nombreux travaux issus de ce projet. Bien que le sujet soit particulièrement large, le fil conducteur de ce travail a été une étude systématique visant in fine une implémentation d'un dispositif d'imagerie ≪ gamma prompts ≫ utilisable à la fois en faisceau de protons et d'ions carbone / Hadrontherapy is taking an increasingly important role in radiotherapy thanks to the ballistic properties of ions and, for those heavier than protons, an enhancement in the relative biological effectiveness in the tumour region. These features allow for a higher tumour conformality possible and gives the opportunity to tackle the problem of radioresistant tumours. However, they may lead to a great sensitivity of ion range to treatment uncertainties, namely to morphological changes along their path. In view of this, the detection of secondary radiations emitted after nuclear interactions between the incoming ions and the patient have been long proposed as ion range probes and, in this regard, positron emitters and prompt gammas have been the matter of intensive research. The European training network ENTERVISION, supported by the ENLIGHT community, was created in the end of 2009 in order to develop such imaging techniques and more generally to address treatment uncertainties during hadrontherapy. The present work is one of the many resulting from this project, under the subject “Modelling and simulation of physics processes for in-beam imaging in hadrontherapy”. Despite the extensive range of the topic, the purpose was always to make a systematic study towards the clinical implementation of a prompt-gamma imaging device to be used for both proton and carbon ion treatments