Study of the inactive layer of a germanium detector: experimental and Monte Carlo simulation treatments

The detection efficiency of a Germanium detector was measured in the energy range of 80 keV up to 1 MeV. A model function to fit the efficiency data was used, containing an absorbing window factor. The results were compared with a Monte Carlo simulation of the photon interactions where, the nominal dimensions were varied in order to check the low-energy behavior of the efficiency curve. The Monte Carlo results showed to be in good agreement with the experimental ones when the nominal dimensions of the crystal, except for its dead layer thickness, were used. This difference in the dead layer was attributed to its non-uniformity. (author)