Large coaxial germanium detectors-correction for ballistic deficit and trapping losses

The use of a ballistic deficit corrector circuit that calculates and applies a correction on a pulse-by-pulse basis has been shown to improve the energy resolution of spectrometers using large-diameter coaxial detectors at high energies and high counting rates. The potential importance of this circuit in correcting for the loss in signal amplitude due to majority carrier trapping has also been recognized. This work has led to further approaches to improving performance. Experimental results are described and demonstrate the complex nature of the problem of simultaneously correcting for both types of loss. The proposed design of a signal processor that should achieve good simultaneous correction for both types of loss is discussed