Isothermal Currents in Some Red Mercuric Iodide Single Crystals

In order to completely characterize the trapping levels that may be present in the red mercuric iodide (alpha-HgI₂) crystals grown (a) by hydration of the HgI₂-DMSO-MeOH saturated solution, (b) by isothermal evaporation of the solvent from the HgI₂-THF saturated solution and (c) by polymer controlled growth in vapor phase, the temperature dependences of the isothermal current versus time characteristics (IC decay) have been studied in detail. For the first time, simplicity of the method has been exploited in great detail. Important limitations of the technique have also been outlined for the first time. Finally, the effects of different trapping levels on the performance of radiation detectors are discussed.