Germanium Detectors with a Built-In Transverse Drift Field

A new kind of position-sensitive germanium detector based on a novel mode of charge transport is proposed and experimental devices have been fabricated. In these germanium "drift-chambers", position information is obtained by measuring carrier drift times. One-dimensional spatial resolutions of ¿ 0.5 mm over an active area of ~ 2.5 × 2.5 cm2 have been achieved in one detector for 60 keV photons. The simplicity of such detectors makes them attractive as position-sensitive gamma-ray spectrometers compared to discrete element detectors. The problems and limitations of the present detectors are discussed.