Dead Layers at the Surface of p-i-n Detectors - A Review

A review of recent work concerning dead layers at the surface of p-i-n detectors is given. Surface states, produced during preparation of the detector or by adsorbed gases at its surface, often lead to a surface channel. In the high-resistivity active volume of the detectors the thickness of the surface channel can be as much as 1 mm. The charge collection within a surface channel is disturbed and it is shown, by theory and experiment, that this results in the dead layers frequently observed on p-i-n detectors.