ABSTRACT
Electronic detectors range from simple radiation counters to complex radiation spectrometers. Numerous radiation detectors rely on the current produced by the motion of mobile charges created by radiation events. Radiation interactions within the detector volume ionize the absorbing medium, thereby creating mobile point charges, usually referred to as charge carriers. This chapter constitutes the fundamental physics governing radiation detectors whose signal formation is based on current induction. The reader is referred to the references for sources with more detailed discussions on electricity and magnetism. In the absence of space charge, the weighting and operating potentials of two-terminal devices have essentially the same shape, the difference being the former is normalized and the latter is not. In the presence of space charge, the shapes of the weighting and operating potentials can be significantly different. The operating potential and the accompanying electric field determine the charge carrier velocities and the active volume of a device.
