3D positioning germanium detectors for gamma-ray astronomy

Wayne Coburn; Susan Amrose; Steven E. Boggs; Robert P. Lin; Mark S. Amman; Morgan T. Burks; Ethan L. Hull; Paul N. Luke; Norman W. Madden

doi:10.1117/12.450828

10 January 2003 3D positioning germanium detectors for gamma-ray astronomy

Wayne Coburn, Susan Amrose, Steven E. Boggs, Robert P. Lin, Mark S. Amman, Morgan T. Burks, Ethan L. Hull, Paul N. Luke, Norman W. Madden

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 4784, X-Ray and Gamma-Ray Detectors and Applications IV; (2003) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.450828
Event: International Symposium on Optical Science and Technology, 2002, Seattle, WA, United States

Abstract

We have developed germanium detector technologies for use in the Nuclear Compton Telescope (NCT) - a balloon-borne soft γ-ray (0.2-10 MeV) telescope to study astrophysical sources of nuclear line emission and polarization. The heart of NCT is an array of twelve large volume cross strip germanium detectors, designed to provide 3-D positions for each photon interaction with ~1mm resolution while maintaining the high spectral resolution of germanium. Here we discuss the detailed performance of our prototype 19x19 strip detector, including laboratory tests, calibrations, and numerical simulations. In addition to the x and y positions provided by the orthogonal strips, the interaction depth (z-position) in the detector is measured using the relative timing of the anode and cathode charge collection signals. We describe laboratory calibrations of the depth discrimination using collimated sources with different characteristic energies, and compare the measurements to detailed Monte Carlo simulations and charge collection routines tracing electron-hole pairs from the interaction site to the electrodes. We have also investigated the effects of charge sharing and loss between electrodes, and present these in comparison to charge collection simulations. Detailed analysis of strip-to-strip uniformity in both efficiency and spectral resolution are also presented.

Citation Download Citation

Wayne Coburn, Susan Amrose, Steven E. Boggs, Robert P. Lin, Mark S. Amman, Morgan T. Burks, Ethan L. Hull, Paul N. Luke, and Norman W. Madden "3D positioning germanium detectors for gamma-ray astronomy", Proc. SPIE 4784, X-Ray and Gamma-Ray Detectors and Applications IV, (10 January 2003); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.450828

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