Sensors 2009, 9(5), 3491-3526; doi:10.3390/s90503491
Review

Progress in the Development of CdTe and CdZnTe Semiconductor Radiation Detectors for Astrophysical and Medical Applications

Stefano Del Sordo 1,* email, Leonardo Abbene 1, 2,* email, Ezio Caroli 3 email, Anna Maria Mancini 4 email, Andrea Zappettini 5 email and Pietro Ubertini 6 email
1 INAF/IASF Palermo, Via Ugo La Malfa 153, 90146 Palermo, Italy 2 Dipartimento di Fisica e Tecnologie Relative, Università di Palermo,Viale delle Scienze, 90128 Palermo, Italy 3 INAF/IASF Bologna, Via Gobetti 101, 40129 Bologna, Italy 4 Dipartimento di Ingegneria dell’Innovazione, Università del Salento, Via Arnesano, 73100 Lecce, Italy 5 IMEM-CNR, Parco Area delle Scienze 37/A, 43100 Parma, Italy 6 INAF/IASF Roma, Via del Fosso del Cavaliere 100, 00133 Roma, Italy
* Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Received: 26 March 2009; in revised form: 5 May 2009 / Accepted: 8 May 2009 / Published: 12 May 2009
(This article belongs to the Special Issue State-of-the-Art Sensors Technology in Italy)
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Abstract: Over the last decade, cadmium telluride (CdTe) and cadmium zinc telluride (CdZnTe) wide band gap semiconductors have attracted increasing interest as X-ray and gamma ray detectors. Among the traditional high performance spectrometers based on silicon (Si) and germanium (Ge), CdTe and CdZnTe detectors show high detection efficiency and good room temperature performance and are well suited for the development of compact and reliable detection systems. In this paper, we review the current status of research in the development of CdTe and CdZnTe detectors by a comprehensive survey on the material properties, the device characteristics, the different techniques for improving the overall detector performance and some major applications. Astrophysical and medical applications are discussed, pointing out the ongoing Italian research activities on the development of these detectors.
Keywords: compound semiconductors; CdTe and CdZnTe detectors; X-ray and gamma ray spectroscopy

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Cite This Article

MDPI and ACS Style

Del Sordo, S.; Abbene, L.; Caroli, E.; Mancini, A.M.; Zappettini, A.; Ubertini, P. Progress in the Development of CdTe and CdZnTe Semiconductor Radiation Detectors for Astrophysical and Medical Applications. Sensors 2009, 9, 3491-3526.

AMA Style

Del Sordo S., Abbene L., Caroli E., Mancini A.M., Zappettini A., Ubertini P. Progress in the Development of CdTe and CdZnTe Semiconductor Radiation Detectors for Astrophysical and Medical Applications. Sensors. 2009; 9(5):3491-3526.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Del Sordo, Stefano; Abbene, Leonardo; Caroli, Ezio; Mancini, Anna Maria; Zappettini, Andrea; Ubertini, Pietro. 2009. "Progress in the Development of CdTe and CdZnTe Semiconductor Radiation Detectors for Astrophysical and Medical Applications." Sensors 9, no. 5: 3491-3526.

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