Implications of carrier mobility limitations for GaAs as an x-ray detector

S. M. Grant; Timothy J. Sumner; J. P. Warren; D. Alexiev; K. S. A. Butcher

doi:10.1117/12.162849

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19 November 1993 Implications of carrier mobility limitations for GaAs as an x-ray detector

S. M. Grant, Timothy J. Sumner, J. P. Warren, D. Alexiev, K. S. A. Butcher

Proceedings Volume 2006, EUV, X-Ray, and Gamma-Ray Instrumentation for Astronomy IV; (1993) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.162849
Event: SPIE's 1993 International Symposium on Optics, Imaging, and Instrumentation, 1993, San Diego, CA, United States

Abstract

Theoretically, gallium arsenide detectors offer an attractive alternative to silicon for the high energy x-ray astronomer, due to the greater absorption power of the material. However, in practice, GaAs detectors made from bulk-grown crystals have a spectral resolution which falls well short of both expectation and that achieved by silicon detectors of comparable thickness. In contrast, a detector fabricated from GaAs grown by the liquid phase epitaxial (LPE) process displays full charge collection with a resolution in agreement with that expected from measurements of leakage current and device capacitance. Experimental results are presented showing the level of spectral resolution possible in a variety of GaAs detectors, including Liquid Enhancement Czochralski material from various manufacturers, Vertical Bridgeman and LPE material. Both the detector performance and the electrical characteristics (voltage- current, noise, etc) have been explored for each device.

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S. M. Grant, Timothy J. Sumner, J. P. Warren, D. Alexiev, and K. S. A. Butcher "Implications of carrier mobility limitations for GaAs as an x-ray detector", Proc. SPIE 2006, EUV, X-Ray, and Gamma-Ray Instrumentation for Astronomy IV, (19 November 1993); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.162849

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