The present paper examines why a-Se has become the key photoconductor material in flat panel direct conversion X-ray image detectors. We critically examine the X-ray sensitivity of stabilized a-Se layers as a function of electric field and mean photon energy. The radiation energy W+/- absorbed per free electron-hole pair liberated for photoconduction in both a-Se and a-Si:H seem to follow the Que-Rowlands rule of W+/- approximate to 2.2 E-g + E-phonon for amorphous semiconductors. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.