Operating Characteristics of Lithium Drift Detectors

A study of the operating characteristics of diffused window lithium drift silicon detector has revealed that the level of compensation is independent of depth. The compensation corresponds to a net impurity concentration of 5 × 1010 impurities per cubic centimeter and is approximately three order of magnitude poorer than that set by current flow through a diode. Using time stability studies it is possible to differentiate between stability of compensation in the bulk or main body of the detector and in the window (diffused type) area of the diode. By appropriate biasing a lithium distribution can be obtained in the window area which has good time stability. The stability of the compensation in the bulk of the diode is sufficiently high that the diffused window detector will provide many years of operation, even when the detector is left largely unbiased.