Influence of detector surface processing on detector performance

Characteristics of gamma ray semiconductor detectors essentially depend on properties of crystal surface. The status of a lateral surface influences surface leakage current of the detector, and the status of a surface, on which the contacts are made, influences properties of contacts and, thus, a volume leakage current and the highest possible bias voltage. In this connection several ways of processing the lateral surface of CdZnTe and CdTe crystals grown by a high-pressure Bridgman method were investigated: chemical etching, ion cleaning, passivation. Influence of a preliminary processing of a crystal surface on the properties of ohmic contacts is investigated. An analysis of electrophysical properties of crystals subjected to surface processing is carried out.