Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-mp689 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-19T11:57:17.472Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Modeling of CZT Response to Gamma Photons Using MCNP and Garfield

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 June 2015

Jonathan Lassiter
Affiliation:
Alabama A&M University, Normal, AL
Randy Robinson
Affiliation:
Alabama A&M University, Normal, AL
Latressa Williams
Affiliation:
Alabama A&M University, Normal, AL
Stephen Babalola
Affiliation:
Alabama A&M University, Normal, AL
Claudiu Muntele
Affiliation:
Cygnus Scientific Services, Huntsville, AL
Get access

Abstract

CZT is a semiconductor material that promises to be a good candidate for uncooled gamma radiation detectors. However, to date, technological difficulties in production of large size defect-free CZT crystals are yet to be overcome. The most common problem is accumulation of tellurium precipitates as microscopic inclusions. These inclusions influence the charge collection through charge trapping and electric field distortion. The common work-around solutions are to fabricate pixelated detectors by either grouping together many small volume CZT crystals to act as individual detectors, or to deposit a pixelated grid of electrical contacts on a larger, but defective, crystal, and selectively collect charge. These solutions are satisfactory in an R&D environment, but are unsuitable for mass production and commercial development. Our modeling effort is aimed at quantifying the various contributions of tellurium inclusions in CZT crystals to the charge generation, transport, and collection, as a function of inclusions size, position, and concentration. We model the energy deposition of gamma photons in the sensitive volume of the detector using LANL’s MCNP code. The electron-hole pairs produced at the energy deposition sites are then transported through the defective crystal and collected as integral charge at the electrical contact sites using CERN’s Garfield software package. The size and position distribution of tellurium inclusions is modeled by sampling experimentally measured distributions of such inclusions on a variety of commercially-grown CZT crystals using IR microscopy and image processing software packages.

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2015 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Del Sordo, S., Abbene, L., Caroli, E., Mancini, A. M., Zappettini, A., and Ubertini, P., Progress in the Development of CdTe and CdZnTe Semiconductor Radiation Detectors for Astrophysical and Medical Applications, Sensors, 9, 34913526, (2009).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Szeles, C., and Driver, M. C., Growth and properties of semi-insulating CdZnTe for radiation detector applications, Proc. SPIE 3446, Hard X-Ray and Gamma-Ray Detector Physics and Applications, 2 (July 1, 1998).Google Scholar
Camarda, G.S., Andreini, K.W., Bolotnikov, A.E., Cui, Y., Hossain, A., Gul, R., Kim, K.H., Marchini, L., [4] Xu, L., Yang, G., Tkaczyk, J.E., James, R.B., Effect of extended defects in planar and pixelated CdZnTe detectors, Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research A, 652, 170173 (2011).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Xu, L., Yang, G., Tkaczyk, J.E., James, R.B., Effect of extended defects in planar and pixelated CdZnTe detectors, Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research A, 652, 170173 (2011).Google Scholar
Carini, G.A., Bolotnikov, A.E., Camarda, G.S., Wright, G.W., Li, L., and James, R.B. Effect of Te Precipitates on the Performance of CdZnTe (CZT) Detectors, Appl. Phys. Lett., 88. 143515 (2006)CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jung, I., Krawczynski, H., Burger, A., Guo, M., Groza, M., Detailed Studies of Pixelated CZT Detectors Grown with the Modified Horizontal Bridgman Method, Astroparticle Physics, Vol. 28, Issue 45, Page 397408, (2007).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
X-5 Monte Carlo Team, MCNP – A General Monte Carlo N-Particle Transport Code, Version 5 Volume I: Overview and Theory. Los Alamos National Laboratory, (2003), LA-UR-03–1987.Google Scholar
Bolotnikov, A.E., Abdul-Jabber, N.M., Babalola, O.S., Camarda, O.S., et al. Effects of Te inclusions on the performance of CdZnTe radiation detectors, Proc. IEEE Nuclear Sci. Symp. Conf. Rec., pp.17881797 (2007).Google Scholar
Babalola, O.S., Bolotnikov, A.E., Groza, M., Hossain, A., Egarievwe, S., James, R. B., Burger, A., Study of Te inlusions in CdMnTe crystals for nuclear detector applications, Journal of Crystal Growth Vol. 311, Issue 14, pp. 37023707 (2009).CrossRefGoogle Scholar