Abstract
Preventing radioactive sources from being used for harmful purposes is a global challenge. A requirement for solving the challenge is developing radiation detectors that are efficient, sensitive, and practical. Room temperature semiconductor detectors (RTSDs) are an important class of gamma-ray sensors because they can generate high-resolution gamma-ray spectra at ambient operating temperatures. A number of diverse and stringent requirements must be met for semiconducting materials to serve as sensors in RTSD spectrometers, which limits the number of candidates of interest that receive attention and undergo focused research and development efforts. Despite this, the development of new compounds for sensors in RTSDs is a thriving research field, and a number of materials with stunning potential as RTSD materials have emerged within the last decade. In this perspective, the state of the art in RTSD materials is examined, and emerging semiconducting compounds are reviewed. The highly developed CdTe, CdZnTe, HgI2, and TlBr are first discussed to highlight the potential that can emerge from RTSD compounds in advanced stages of technological development. Thereafter, emerging compounds are reviewed by class from chalcogenides, iodides and chalcohalides, and organic-inorganic hybrid compounds. This work provides both a compilation of the physical and electronic properties of the emerging RTSD candidates and a perspective on the importance of material properties for the future of compounds that can transform the field of radiation detection science.
Highlights
The average person has a very low risk of being unintentionally exposed to harmful amounts of non-naturally occurring radiation
As a benchmark posed by Owens, a suitable detector should be able to exhibit a photopeak resolution of 1% or less with a volume of 1 cm3.7 The key properties for this capability include insulator-level resistivity values that allow for leakage current values lower than several nanoamperes, electron-hole pair creation energies that approach the value of the bandgap, and charge carrier mobilities and lifetimes that enable optimum charge collection efficiency (CCE)
The development of Room temperature semiconductor detectors (RTSDs) compounds is pursued toward the goal of developing sensitive radiation detectors that can alert, identify, and characterize radiation
Summary
The average person has a very low risk of being unintentionally exposed to harmful amounts of non-naturally occurring radiation. Have the ability to produce a spectral response that enables the identification and characterization of radioactive sources Detectors that satisfy these two criteria can produce high signal-tonoise ratios upon gamma ray interactions, which enable the detection of radioactive sources. Many semiconductors with larger bandgaps have come under investigation as candidate materials for radiation detectors that can identify and characterize sources at farther standoff distances and shorter measurement times than comparably sized NaI(Tl). These materials, RTSDs, can produce high-energy resolution spectral responses without the need for cooling.
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