Radiation damage study in CZT matrix detectors exposed to gamma rays

Abstract

Radiation damage in terms of atomic displacements in a typical CZT detector used in medical imaging applications was studied using the Monte Carlo statistical method. All detector structural and geometric features as well as different energies of the photons usually used in the application were taken into account. Considering the Mott-McKinley-Feshbach classical approach, effective cross sections of the displacements were calculated, including the number of displacements per atom for each atomic species present in the material and each photon energy considered. These results are analyzed and compared. Finally, the radiation damage on CZT detector is compared to that calculated in a similar detector manufactured with other semiconducting materials.

Keywords

• monte carlo method, positron computed tomography, semiconductor detectors, mathematical models, atomic displacements, cross sections