Thallium Bromide Semiconductor Radiation Materials and Detectors Characterization Studies
Two overarching requirements of crucial importance for the commercial and scientific establishment of semiconductor radiation detectors are: (1) exceptionally high-purity crystals with impurity concentrations less than 1 part-per-billion and (2) single crystals that are relatively free from subgrain boundaries, secondary phases, dislocations, and other electrically-active defects. We investigated the properties of thallium bromide (TlBr) material that affect its performance with the goal of increasing the material's commercial viability for radiation detection applications. For this purpose, we used beamlines at the National Synchrotron Light Source (NSLS) at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), performing Micron-scale X-ray Detector Mapping, White Beam X-ray Diffraction Topography, and Micron-scale X-ray Fluorescence. These characterization methods improve the industry's understanding of TlBr and lead to the production of improved instrumentation. In this particular study we report electro-migration measurements of positive-ion Cu, Ag, and Au impurities in TlBr detectors under electric field strengths typically used for device operation. BNL improved TlBr detectors with an electrode design that corrects the response non-uniformities caused by crystal defects. This design can achieve improved energy resolution while using typical-grade, commercial crystals with relaxed quality requirements, thus reducing the overall cost of detectors. Additional characterization will be necessary to fully understand the structure and performance of TlBr with the ultimate goal to achieve the highest energy resolution. Our findings from past work will be presented along with our recommendations for additional investigation.
- Research Organization:
- Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), Office of Nonproliferation and Verification Research and Development (NA-22)
- DOE Contract Number:
- SC0012704
- OSTI ID:
- 1635093
- Report Number(s):
- BNL-216042-2020-COPA
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: INMM 61st Annual Meeting Connection & Collaboration, Virtual platform , 7/12/2020 - 7/16/2020
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Thallium bromide radiation detectors