Cadmium-zinc-telluride for radiation monitoring of gaseous effluent

Conference · Thu Dec 31 23:00:00 EST 1992 · Transactions of the American Nuclear Society; (United States)

OSTI ID:5882843

Lingren, C L; Butler, J F ^[1]; Gossett, B ^[2]

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1. Aurora Technologies Corp., San Diego, CA (United States)
2. Southern California Edison Company, San Clemente (United States)

Cadmium-zinc-telluride (CZT) detectors offer room-temperature operation and improved measurement capability over alternative technologies. The CZT detectors are similar to cadmium-telluride (CdTe) detectors, but with significant advances. The use of CdTe has been hindered by technological problems that appear to stem from the commonly used method of growth. The CZT detectors produced by Aurora Technologies Corporation by high-pressure Bridgman growth are free from these problems, exhibiting superior resolution and excellent stability, reliability, and lifetime, in addition to the advantages of room-temperature operation, high counting efficiency, good energy resolution, small size, low bias voltage requirement, direct conversion of gamma event to charge output, and solid-state durability. The CZT crystals are grown in sizes up to 10 cm in diameter and up to 10 kg with uniformly high resistivity, providing detectors with leakage currents two orders of magnitude lower than for CdTe. Consequently, the detectors have improved energy resolution that is superior to scintillators from preamplifier noise levels to well over 100 key and can provide useful energy information at temperatures up to at least 100[degrees]C.

• OSTI ID: 5882843
• Report Number(s): CONF-930601--
• Journal Information: Transactions of the American Nuclear Society; (United States), Journal Name: Transactions of the American Nuclear Society; (United States) Vol. 68; ISSN 0003-018X; ISSN TANSAO
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS
220500* -- Nuclear Reactor Technology-- Environmental Aspects
CDTE SEMICONDUCTOR DETECTORS
GASEOUS WASTES
MATERIALS
MEASURING INSTRUMENTS
MONITORING
MONITORS
NUCLEAR FACILITIES
NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS
POWER PLANTS
RADIATION DETECTORS
RADIATION MONITORING
RADIATION MONITORS
RADIOACTIVE EFFLUENTS
RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS
RADIOACTIVE WASTES
SEMICONDUCTOR DETECTORS
TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT
THERMAL POWER PLANTS
WASTES