Over the last decade, cadmium telluride (CdTe) and cadmium zinc telluride (CdZnTe) wide band gap semiconductors have attracted increasing interest as X-ray and gamma ray detectors. Among the traditional high performance spectrometers based on silicon (Si) and germanium (Ge), CdTe and CdZnTe detectors show high detection efficiency and good room temperature performance and are well suited for the development of compact and reliable detection systems. In this paper, we review the current status of research in the development of CdTe and CdZnTe detectors by a comprehensive survey on the material properties, the device characteristics, the different techniques for improving the overall detector performance and some major applications. Astrophysical and medical applications are discussed, pointing out the ongoing Italian research activities on the development of these detectors.

Articles you may be interested inControlling the polarity of metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy-grown GaP on Si(111) for subsequent III-V nanowire growth Appl. Phys. Lett. 106, 231601 (2015); 10.1063/1.4922275GaAs whiskers grown by metal-organic vapor-phase epitaxy using Fe nanoparticles Au-catalyzed self-assembly of GaAs nanowires on ͑111͒B GaAs by metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy is reported between 375 and 500°C, using tertiarybutylarsine and trimethylgallium in H 2 . The nanowires are ͓111͔B aligned and kink-free. Below 425°C the nanowires have narrow base diameter distributions, closely matching the size ͑ϳ60 nm͒ of the Au nanoparticles at their tip ͑no tapering͒. Above 425°C the nanowires show a hexagonal-based pyramidal shape with base edges normal to the ͗211͘ in-plane substrate directions and base diameters which increase exponentially with temperature, indicating a kinetics limited growth along the nanowire sidewalls. Activation energies in the range of ϳ20-23 kcal/ mol were estimated for growth along both the sidewalls and the ͓111͔B direction.

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