Performance of an array of 6x6x20 mm3 virtual Frisch-grid CdZnTe detectors with a waveform sampling readout system

Abstract

Arrays of CdZnTe (CZT) bars with high spatial and energy resolution are an enabling technology for future space missions, such as the image plane detector of the Galactic Explorer with a Coded Aperture Mask Compton Telescope (GECCO). GECCO will explore the medium-energy (100 keV-10 MeV) 𝛾-ray sky, which is among the least covered windows to the Universe with a massive potential for discovery. We have integrated an array of 6 × 6 × 20 𝑚𝑚 3 virtual Frisch-grid (VFG) CZT detectors, measuring signals from the cathodes, anodes, and pads on each of the four sides of each bar. The VFG CZT detector is read out with an IDEAS GDS-100 waveform sampling readout system to optimize the signal processing and event reconstruction. We evaluated the energy and position resolution of the integrated VFG CZT array with a 137 Cs source and successfully demonstrated better than 1% energy resolution and finer than 1 mm position resolution at 662 keV. Furthermore, we carried out a beam test at the High Intensity Gamma-ray Source (HIGS) at Duke University to investigate the performance of the system for higher energy 𝛾-rays. Together with the basic performance obtained from the 137 Cs source, we present here those results from the beam test with various 𝛾-ray energies up to 8 MeV.