Carrier Trapping in Ge(Li) Detectors

Abstract

The results of previously published studies relating to the trapping of charge carriers in semiconductor nuclear radiation detectors, including theoretical models and experimental data, have been used to construct a more realistic operational model which can be used to describe the trapping process. Specifically, the model has been developed for the situation most commonly reported in the literature, that of electron trapping in planar Ge(Li) detectors. The success of the present model has been judged on its ability to predict the variation of the peak shape resulting from γ-irradiation of a planar Ge(Li) detector as a function of applied bias. Full-energy γ-ray peaks have been calculated with digital computation techniques by incorporating the variation of peak amplitude as a function of charge collection efficiency as well as the variation of carrier lifetime with applied field into a previously published model.