Simulation of active-edge pixelated CdTe radiation detectors

The edge surfaces of single crystal CdTe play an important role in the electronic properties and performance of this material as an X-ray and γ-ray radiation detector. Edge effects have previously been reported to reduce the spectroscopic performance of the edge pixels in pixelated CdTe radiation detectors without guard bands. A novel Technology Computer Aided Design (TCAD) model based on experimental data has been developed to investigate these effects. The results presented in this paper show how localized low resistivity surfaces modify the internal electric field of CdTe creating potential wells. These result in a reduction of charge collection efficiency of the edge pixels, which compares well with experimental data.