Recent developments in semiconductor gamma-ray detectors

• Published in: Journal of radioanalytical and nuclear chemistry Vol. 264; no. 1; pp. 145 - 153
• Main Authors: Luke, P. N., Amman, M., Tindall, C., Lee, J. S.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 01.04.2005
• ISSN: 0236-5731; 1588-2780
• DOI: 10.1007/s10967-005-0687-8

The successful development of lithium-drifted Ge detectors in the 1960s marked the beginning of the significant use of semiconductor crystals for direct detection and spectroscopy of gamma-rays. In the 1970s, high-purity Ge became available, which enabled the production of complex detectors and multi-detector systems. In the following decades, the technology of semiconductor gamma-ray detectors continued to advance, with significant developments not only in Ge detectors but also in Si detectors and room-temperature compound-semiconductor detectors. In recent years, our group at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory has developed a variety of gamma-ray detectors based on these semiconductor materials. Examples include Ge strip detectors, lithium-drifted Si strip detectors, and coplanar-grid CdZnTe detectors. These advances provide new capabilities in the measurement of gamma-rays, such as the ability to perform imaging and the realization of highly compact spectroscopy systems.