Accumulative dose response of CdZnTe detectors to 14.1 MeV neutrons

The accumulative dose response of CdZnTe (CZT) detectors to 14.1 MeV neutrons is discussed experimentally in this paper. The Cockcroft–Walton Accelerator is used to obtain a steady neutron beam of 14.1 MeV neutrons. A pulsed X-ray source is used to test the response parameters of the neutron-exposed CZT detectors under the pulse mode. The irradiation time (hours) is shorter relative to the time scales (years) where annealing effects occur. Time and linearity response is analyzed to evaluate the maximum dose rate of the CZT detectors and the pulse shape. The result shows that the experimental CZT detectors maintain stable response behaviors, while the maximum dose rate and the total accumulative dose are less than 10⁶ neutrons/(cm²·s) and 10¹⁰ neutrons/cm², respectively.