Signal modeling of charge sharing effect in simple pixelated CdZnTe detector

Abstract

In order to study the energy resolution degradation in 3D position-sensitive pixelated CdZnTe (CZT) detectors, a detailed detector system modeling package has been developed and used to analyze the detector performance. A 20 × 20 × 15 mm3 CZT crystal with an 11 × 11 simple-pixel anode array and a 1.72 mm pixel pitch was modeled. The VAS UM/TAT4 Application Specific Integrated Circuitry (ASIC) was used for signal read-out. Components of the simulation package include gamma-ray interactions with the CZT crystal, charge induction, electronic noise, pulse shaping, and ASIC triggering procedures. The charge induction model considers charge drift, trapping, diffusion, and sharing between pixels. This system model is used to determine the effects of electron cloud sharing, weighting potential non-uniformity, and weighting potential cross-talk which produce non-uniform signal responses for different gamma-ray interaction positions and ultimately degrade energy resolution. The effect of the decreased weighting potential underneath the gap between pixels on the total pulse amplitude of events has been studied. The transient signals induced by electron clouds collected near the gap between pixels may generate false signals, and the measured amplitude can be even greater than the photopeak. As the number of pixels that collect charge increases, the probability of side-neighbor events due to charge sharing significantly increases. If side-neighbor events are not corrected appropriately, the energy resolution of pixelated CZT detectors in multiple-pixel events degrades rapidly.