The controlled-drift detector: characterisation of the readout mechanism and of the charge handling capability

A new position-sensitive X-ray detector operated in integrate-readout mode has been recently designed and characterised. Due to the peculiar working principle of the new detector, the charge handling capability, that is the maximum charge that can be stored in a pixel, is related to the operating conditions of the device. In particular the amplitude of the barriers that confine the signal electrons during the integration phase depends on the applied drift field and on the field perturbation superposed to it. A detailed experimental characterisation of the charge handling capability as a function of these parameters has been carried out