A high-speed cadmium telluride radiation detector

A small CdTe detector capable of high repetition pulse rate with possibilities for applications in radiation monitoring and similar uses was developed. The hole transit time through the crystal was shortened by decreasing the crystal thickness of 0.3 mm (1×1 mm) and by applying fields as high as 10 kV/cm. The electron transit time, although short, was electrically elongated by applying appropriate capacitance to the amplifier, and the output pulse waveform was designed to be similar to that for the holes. High, uniform output pulses with widths of 30 ns were thus obtained. The energy resolution was 9 keV for 59.4-keV photons from ²⁴¹Am using a 100-ns-response amplifier