Fabrication and performance of mercuric iodide pixellated detectors

The radiation detection efficiency and spectral resolution of mercuric iodide detectors can be improved significantly by increasing the volume of the detectors and by using a pixellated anode structure. Detector bodies with a thickness of nominally 10 mm and an active area of approximately 14 mm x 14 mm have been used for these experiments. The detectors were cut from single crystals grown by the physical vapor transport method. The cut surfaces were polished and etched using a string saw and potassium iodide solutions. The Palladium contacts were deposited by magnetron sputtering through stainless steel masks. The cathode contact is continuous; the anode contacts consist of an array of 11 x 11 pixels surrounded by a guard ring. The resistance between a pixel and its surrounding contacts should be larger than 0.25 Gohm. The detector is mounted on a substrate that makes it possible to connect the anode pixels to an ASIC, and is conditioned so that it is stable for all pixels at a bias of -3000 Volts. Under these conditions the spectral resolution for Cs-137 gamma rays (662 keV) is approximately 5% FWHM. When depth sensing correction methods are applied, the resolution improves to about 2% FWHM or better. It is expected that the performance of the devices can be improved by the careful selection of crystal parts that are free of structural defects. Details of the fabrication technologies will be described. The effects of material inhomogeneities and transport properties of the charge carriers will be discussed.