Application of pulse-shape discrimination to coplanar CdZnTe detectors

A digital pulse-shape discrimination algorithm for the identification of multi-site γ-ray interactions in coplanar CdZnTe detectors has been developed. The algorithm is used to suppress the Compton continuum in γ-ray spectroscopy measurements by rejecting the single-site events. The results of our study with a 15×15×7.5 mm3 detector demonstrate the effectiveness of this approach for revealing low intensity γ-ray peaks in the examined energy range (511–1274 keV), which is of importance for environmental and security applications. The method is also very useful for background reduction in the neutrinoless double beta-decay experiments for which coplanar CdZnTe detectors are of interest.