Unipolar charge sensing with coplanar electrodes-application to semiconductor detectors

Abstract

A novel method to perform preferential sensing of single-polarity charge carriers in ionization detectors is presented. It achieves the same function as Frisch grids commonly employed in gas ion chambers but uses a coplanar electrode configuration suitable for semiconductor detectors. Through the use of this method, good energy resolution can be obtained from room-temperature compound semiconductor detectors despite their poor hole-collection characteristics. Experiments using a CdZnTe detector demonstrate the effectiveness of this technique. Schemes to correct for electron trapping and to obtain position information are also described.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">&gt;</ETX>