Room temperature semiconductor detectors for nuclear security

Abstract

Preventing radioactive sources from being used for harmful purposes is a global challenge. A requirement for solving the challenge is developing radiation detectors that are efficient, sensitive, and practical. Room temperature semiconductor detectors (RTSDs) are an important class of gamma-ray sensors because they can generate high-resolution gamma-ray spectra at ambient operating temperatures. A number of diverse and stringent requirements must be met for semiconducting materials to serve as sensors in RTSD spectrometers, which limits the number of candidates of interest that receive attention and undergo focused research and development efforts. Despite this, the development of new compounds for sensors in RTSDs is a thriving research field, and a number of materials with stunning potential as RTSD materials have emerged within the last decade. In this perspective, the state of the art in RTSD materials is examined, and emerging semiconducting compounds are reviewed. The highly developed CdTe, CdZnTe, HgI2, and TlBr are first discussed to highlight the potential that can emerge from RTSD compounds in advanced stages of technological development. Thereafter, emerging compounds are reviewed by class from chalcogenides, iodides and chalcohalides, and organic-inorganic hybrid compounds. This work provides both a compilation of the physical and electronic properties of the emerging RTSD candidates and a perspective on the importance of material properties for the future of compounds that can transform the field of radiation detection science.

Recent advances in the development of high-resolution 3D cadmium–zinc–telluride drift strip detectors

“…The desire for room-temperature gamma-ray spectroscopic imagers with sub-millimetre spatial resolution in 3D and energy resolutions close to the superb resolutions of cooled high-purity germanium (HPGe) detectors (0.3% FWHM at 662 keV) (Abbene et al, 2013a,b;Knoll, 2000) has stimulated intense research activities on the development of 3D cadmium-zinc-telluride (CdZnTe or CZT) detectors. Roomtemperature measurements of photon energy, timing and 3D positioning up to the megaelectronvolt region are key requirements for several applications in astrophysics (Kuvvetli et al, 2010), medical imaging (Abbaszadeh et al, 2016;Drezet et al, 2007;Peng & Levin, 2010) and nuclear security (Johns & Nino, 2019;Wahl & He, 2011. Since the first spectroscopic grade detector was fabricated (Butler et al, 1992), CZT now represents the leading detector material over high-Z and wide-band-gap compound semiconductors (Del Sordo, 2004Sordo, , 2009 Takahashi & Watanabe, 2001;Turturici et al, 2014).…”

Self‐powered multilayer radioisotope identification device

“…6 Research is active in the field of room temperature semiconductors to reduce some of these limitations. 17 In principle, it is possible to obtain meaningful information about the energy of the incoming beam without the usage of a spectroscopic detector. 18,19 The device we present in this paper is based on a different principle.…”

Advances in CdZnTeSe for Radiation Detector Applications

“…Radiation detectors, especially for the X-and gamma-ray range, are being developed and utilize the advantages of semiconductor radiation detectors operating at room temperature. These detectors have a large number of applications ranging from homeland security to medical imaging, astronomy, and high energy physics [1][2][3][4]. Intense global search has been carried out to develop efficient semiconductors with high detection efficiency at lower cost [4].…”