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Title: Electron-Hole Pairs Created by Photons and Intrinsic Properties in Detector Materials

Journal Article · · IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science, 55(3):1079-1085

A Monte Carlo (MC) code has been developed to simulate the interaction of gamma-rays with semiconductors and scintillators, and the subsequent energy partitioning of fast electrons. The results provide insights on the processes involved in the electron-hole pair yield and intrinsic variance through simulations of full electron energy cascades. The MC code has been applied to simulate the production of electron-hole pairs and to evaluate intrinsic resolution in a number of semiconductors. In addition, the MC code is also able to consider the spatial distribution of electron-hole pairs induced by photons and electrons in detector materials, and has been employed to obtain details of the spatial distribution of electron-hole pairs in Ge, as a benchmark case. The preliminary results show that the distribution of electron-hole pairs exhibit some important features; (a) the density of electron-hole pairs along the main electron track is very high and (b) most electron-hole pairs produced by interband transitions are distributed at the periphery of the cascade volume. The spatial distribution and density of thermalized electron-hole pairs along the primary and secondary tracks are important for large scale simulations of electron-hole pair transport.

Research Organization:
Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
DOE Contract Number:
AC05-76RL01830
OSTI ID:
935599
Report Number(s):
PNNL-SA-57212; IETNAE; TRN: US200816%%749
Journal Information:
IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science, 55(3):1079-1085, Vol. 55, Issue 3; ISSN 0018-9499
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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