ABSTRACT
The compactness of semiconductors accompanied by the generally high energy resolution makes them attractive radiation detectors. Semiconductor charged particle spectrometers offer high energy resolution for energetic ions. Semiconducting behavior was discovered by Faraday in 1833 when he observed that current flow through AgS increased with temperature,1 the opposite effect observed with conductive metals. In a pure defect-free semiconductor, the recombination time is essentially the same as the mean free drift time. Semiconductor gamma-ray detectors are usually smaller than their scintillator counterparts, and it is common for a semiconductor detector spectral response to have a relatively high Compton continuum in the spectrum. Semiconductor radiation detectors used as neutron detectors are typically configured as pn-junction or Schottky-junction diodes coated with a neutron reactive material. Silicon is by far the most studied of the semiconductor materials for electronic devices, and it is popular for its many beneficial physical and electronic properties.
