Internal Electric Field Investigations of a Cadmium Zinc Telluride Detector Using Synchrotron X-ray Mapping and Pockels Effect Measurements

Cadmium zinc telluride (CZT) has remained a major focus of research due to its promising application as a room-temperature nuclear radiation detector material. Among the several parameters that substantially affect the detectors' performance, an important one is the distribution of the internal electric field. Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) employed synchrotron x-ray microscale mapping and measurements of the Pockels effect to investigate the distribution of the internal electric field in a CZT strip detector. Direct evidence that dislocations can distort the internal electric field of the detector was obtained. Furthermore, it was found that 'star' defects in the CZT crystal, possibly ascribed to dislocation loop punching, cause charge trapping.