Performance improvement of CZT detectors by line electrode geometry

Due to their high efficiency and high energy resolution, applications of CdZnTe (CZT) detectors have spread into many areas such as room temperature detectors. To improve the performance and decrease the effects of hole trapping and crystal non-uniformity, special contact geometries are applied to the detectors, such as Coplanar, 3D pixel, Frisch grid, Capture and so on. In this paper, we introduce a new line electrode geometry to greatly improve CZT detector performance. A line anode collects electrons, while a planar cathode collects holes. Due to the low electric field close to the cathode and the low hole μτ value, this geometry is also a single charge sensitive structure. The calculated energy resolution of a 20 mm x 20 mm x 15 mm detector could be improved up to 1.51% for 662 keV gamma rays. Both simulations and experimental results are presented here. (author)