Feasibility study of CdZnTe and CdZnTeSe based high energy X-ray detector using linear accelerator

Abstract

CdZnTeSe (CZTS) has attracted attention for applications in X- and gamma-ray detectors owing to its improved properties compared to those of CdZnTe (CZT). In this study, we grew and processed single crystals of CZT and CZTS using the Bridgeman method to confirm the feasibility of using a dosimeter for high-energy X-rays in radiotherapy. We evaluated their linearity and precision using the coefficient of determination (R2) and relative standard deviation (RSD). CZTS showed sufficient RSD values lower than 1.5% of the standard for X-ray dosimetry, whereas CZT's RSD values increased dramatically under some conditions. CZTS exhibited an R2 value of 0.9968 at 500 V/cm, whereas CZT has an R2 value of 0.9373 under the same conditions. The X-ray response of CZTS maintains its pulse shape at various dose rates, and its properties are improved by adding selenium to the CdTe matrix to lower the defect density and sub-grain boundaries. Thus, we validated that CZTS shows a better response than CZT to high-energy X-rays used for radiotherapy. Further, the applicability of an onboard imager, a high-energy X-ray (>6 MV) image, is presented. The proposed methodology and results can guide future advances in X-ray dose detection.