Performance comparison of four compact room-temperature detectors - two cadmium zinc telluride (CZT) semiconductor detectors, a LaCl3(Ce) scintillator, and an NaI(Tl) scintillator

The performance characteristics of four compact, room-temperature detectors - two scintillators and two semiconductor detectors - were studied. All are commercially-available detectors. The two scintillators were a O13 mm × 13 mm lanthanum chloride [LaCl₃(Ce)] detector and a O25 mm × 25 mm sodium iodide [NaI(Tl)] detector. The two semiconductor detectors were a 10 mm × 10 mm × 3 mm cadmium zinc telluride (CZT) detector with a coplanar gridded anode and a 5 mm × 5 mm × 5 mm CZT detector with an extended cathode. The efficiency, resolution, and peak shape of these devices are compared. Since LaCl₃(Ce) is a relatively new commercial scintillator material, additional information on the performance of this detector is presented. Specifically, the impact of naturally-occurring radioactive ¹³⁸La and additional contamination from alpha-emitting radionuclides on the background measured with this detector are discussed.