Ceramic mercuric iodide semiconductor particle counters

Radiation detectors have been fabricated from very thick films (100-600 μm) of mercuric iodide (HgI₂). These devices, which function as nuclear particle counters and not as spectrometers, have been prepared with single continuous electrical contacts, linear microstrips and square pixel contacts. The word ceramic is used to distinguish the detectors from single crystals which are usually studied for this application. The detectors have been tested with different kinds of gamma and beta sources as well as in a high energy beam of 100 GeV muons at CERN. The presented results show the potential of this material for applications demanding position sensitive, radiation resistant, room-temperature operating radiation detectors, where position rather than spectroscopic resolution is essential, as it can be found in some specific applications in high energy physics, nuclear medicine and astrophysics. Because of the low cost and of the polycrystallinity, detectors can be potentially fabricated in any size and shape, using standard ceramic technology shaping equipment, which is an attractive feature where low cost and large area applications are needed