Nuclear Inst. and Methods in Physics Research, A 884 (2018) 136–139
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Nuclear Inst. and Methods in Physics Research, A
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/nima
Study of sub-pixel position resolution with time-correlated transient signals
in 3D pixelated CdZnTe detectors with varying pixel sizes
L. Ocampo Giraldo
a,b,
*, A.E. Bolotnikov
b
, G.S. Camarda
b
, G. De Geronimo
b
, J. Fried
b
, R. Gul
b
,
D. Hodges
c
, A. Hossain
b
, K. Ünlü
a
, E. Vernon
b
, G. Yang
b
, R.B. James
d
a
Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, United States
b
Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY, United States
c
University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX, United States
d
Savannah River National Laboratory, Aiken, SC, United States
a r t i c l e i n f o
Keywords:
CdZnTe
High-granularity detectors
3D pixelated detectors
Crystal defects
Charge sharing
Charge-loss correction
a b s t r a c t
We evaluated the sub-pixel position resolution achievable in large-volume CdZnTe pixelated detectors with
conventional pixel patterns and for several different pixel sizes: 2.8 mm, 1.72 mm, 1.4 mm and 0.8 mm.
Achieving position resolution below the physical dimensions of pixels (sub-pixel resolution) is a practical path
for making high-granularity position-sensitive detectors, <100 μm, using a limited number of pixels dictated
by the mechanical constraints and multi-channel readout electronics. High position sensitivity is important for
improving the imaging capability of CZT gamma cameras. It also allows for making more accurate corrections
of response non-uniformities caused by crystal defects, thus enabling use of standard-grade (unselected) and less
expensive CZT crystals for producing large-volume position-sensitive CZT detectors feasible for many practical
applications. We analyzed the digitized charge signals from a representative 9 pixels and the cathode, generated
using a pulsed-laser light beam focused down to 10 μm (650 nm) to scan over a selected 3 × 3 pixel area. We
applied our digital pulse processing technique to the time-correlated signals captured from adjacent pixels to
achieve and evaluate the capability for sub-pixel position resolution. As an example, we also demonstrated an
application of 3D corrections to improve the energy resolution and positional information of the events for the
tested detectors.
Published by Elsevier B.V.
1. Introduction
Large-volume, >1 cm
3
, position-sensitive CdZnTe (CZT) gamma-
ray detectors have been proposed and used in many applications [1].
Among them, a 20 × 20 × 15 mm
3
3D position-sensitive detector
developed by the Orion radiation measurement group at University
of Michigan [2] demonstrated a record breaking energy resolution,
high detection efficiency and advanced imaging capabilities. However,
these kinds of detectors mainly rely on using premium-grade (selected)
CZT material, which has a low production yield and high cost. The
proliferation of this highly demanded technology is connected to the
growing supply of low-cost material free from crystal defects. The steady
supply of such material has yet not been achieved. An alternative (and
more economical) approach is to employ more accurate charge-loss (or
response non-uniformity) correction techniques, which rely on using
high-granularity position sensitive detectors. These techniques allow
*
Correspondence to: Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY 11973, United States.
E-mail address: lio5000@psu.edu (L. Ocampo Giraldo).
for using standard-grade materials to reduce the device cost without
compromising their performance. High position sensitivity allows us
to virtually divide the detector active volume into small voxels and
equalize the responses from each voxel. Recently, we demonstrated
this approach for 3D pixelated detectors with small-pixel sizes, using
charge sharing to enhance position resolution [3]. Using the collected-
charge signals generated as a result of the charge sharing is an easy and
straightforward approach for achieving sub-pixel resolution. However,
its main drawback is that it requires using small pixels and readout
channels, which makes this approach impractical for many applications
due to system complexity and power consumption in the readout ASIC.
A more practical approach involves use of the induced signals from
the adjacent pixels to refine the position resolution. In this work, we
investigated several commercial pixelated detectors with varying pixel
sizes using the time-correlated transient signals.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nima.2017.12.024
Received 6 September 2017; Received in revised form 6 November 2017; Accepted 7 December 2017
Available online 18 December 2017
0168-9002/Published by Elsevier B.V.