0000000000255448
AUTHOR
Ralph B. James
New results from testing of coplanar-grid CdZnTe detectors
New results from studies of coplanar-grid CdZnTe (CZT) detectors are presented. The coplanar-grid detectors were investigated by using a highly collimated X-ray beam available at Brookhaven's National Synchrotron Light Source and by applying a pulse-shape analysis. The coplanar-grid detector operates as a single-carrier device. Despite the fact that its operational principle is well known and has been investigated by many groups in the past, we found some new details that may explain the performance limits of these types of devices. The experimental results have been confirmed by extensive computer modeling.
High-energy X-ray diffraction and topography investigation of CdZnTe
High-energy transmission x-ray diffraction techniques have been applied to investigate the crystal quality of CdZnTe (CZT). CdZnTe has shown excellent performance in hard x-ray and gamma detection; unfortunately, bulk nonuniformities still limit spectroscopic properties of CZT detectors. Collimated high-energy x-rays, produced by a superconducting wiggler at the National Synchrotron Light Source’s X17B1 beamline, allow for a nondestructive characterization of thick CZT samples (2–3 mm). In order to have complete information about the defect distribution and strains in the crystals, two series of experiments have been performed. First, a monochromatic 67 keV x-ray beam with the size of 300×3…
The effects of precipitates on CdZnTe device performance
A high-intensity X-ray beam collimated down to a 10-micrometer spot size, available at Brookhaven's National Synchrotron Light Source (NSLS), was employed to perform X-ray mapping to measure the correlation between microscopic defects (precipitates) and variations in the collected charges in long-drift CdZnTe (CZT) detectors. First, we use X-ray diffraction topography (XDT) measurements at the high-energy beamline and IR microscopy to identify the defects distribution and strains in the bulk of CZT crystals. Then, we perform X-ray raster scans of the CZT detectors to measure their responses with 10-micrometer spatial resolution. The brightness of the source allows for good statistics in ver…
Material quality characterization of CdZnTe substrates for HgCdTe epitaxy
Cd1−xZnxTe (CZT) substrates were studied to investigate their bulk and surface properties. Imperfections in CZT substrates affect the quality of Hg1−xCdxTe (MCT) epilayers deposited on them and play a role in limiting the performance of infrared (IR) focal plane arrays. CZT wafers were studied to investigate their bulk and surface properties. Transmission and surface x-ray diffraction techniques, utilizing both a conventional closed-tube x-ray source as well as a synchrotron radiation source, and IR transmission micro-spectroscopy, were used for bulk and surface investigation. Synchrotron radiation offers the capability to combine good spatial resolution and shorter exposure times than conv…