On the spectrometric performance limit of radiation detectors based on semi-insulating GaAs

In this work, basic tasks related to the spectrometric performance of X- and γ-ray radiation-imaging detectors based on semi-insulating (SI) GaAs are studied. The state of the art in this field is reported. The importance of a low-noise front-end read-out electronic chain is demonstrated. Four different charge-sensitive preamplifiers are tested and compared. The investigation of SI GaAs detectors considered for imaging applications is focused on the study of different electrode technologies. A blocking electrode is obtained by a surface Schottky barrier or an MBE-grown P+ layer. An ohmic N+ contact is fabricated using alloyed AuGeNi metallization or an advanced, quasi-ohmic non-injecting system created by a non-stoichiometric buffer grown by low-temperature MBE at the metal-semiconductor interface. This latter approach is considered as an improvement of the “non-alloyed” ohmic contact. The pulse height spectra obtained with 241Am and 57Co sources and corresponding detector energy resolution are evaluated. The role of detector geometry and temperature on the spectrometric performance is studied.