Simulation of semiconductor detectors in 3D with SolidStateDetectors.jl

Abstract

The open-source software package SolidStateDetectors.jl to calculate the fields and simulate the drifts of charge carriers in solid state detectors, especially in large volume high-purity germanium detectors, together with the corresponding pulses, is introduced. The package can perform all calculations in full 3D while it can also make use of detector symmetries. The effect of the surroundings of a detector can also be studied. The package is programmed in the user friendly and performance oriented language julia, such that 3D field calculations and drift simulations can be executed efficiently and in parallel. The package was developed for high-purity germanium detectors, but it can be adjusted by the user to other types of semiconductors. The verification of the package is shown for an n-type segmented point-contact germanium detector. Additional features of SolidStateDetectors.jl, which are under development are listed.

A novel wide-angle Compton Scanner setup to study bulk events in germanium detectors

“…Fig. 15 Pulses simulated with SolidStateDetectors.jl [19] for interaction points on the 100 axis in segment 1 of the segBEGe detector at φ = 46.1 • , z = 20 mm and different r as given in the legend. The impurity density was set to 90% of the values given by the manufacturer [34].…”

“…Different interaction points in the germanium detector lead to different charge drift paths. Thus, the pulse shapes depend characteristically on the position of the interaction point [19]. In Figs.…”

“…At the center height of the detector, i.e. at z = 20 mm, the electric field in the segBEGe detector points primarily inwards in r-direction [19,34]. There, the electrons Fig.…”

“…The pulses in Fig. 15 were simulated using the ulıa open-source software package SolidStateDetectors.jl [19]. For the simulation, the impurity density of the germanium detector was set to 90% of the values given by the manufacturer [34].…”

“…Algorithms for pulse shape analysis can be tuned by testing their efficiencies on a selection of pulses with known origin. These so-called pulse shape libraries can either be simulated using a dedicated software package [16][17][18][19], or created from data by depositing energy in well-defined volumes in the detector. In the latter case, the germanium detector is often irradiated with a collimated beam consisting of alphas, betas, or low-energy gammas [20][21][22], which deposit their energy within less than a few millimeters away from the surface.…”