We studied two separate as-grown CdMnTe crystals by Infrared (IR) microscopy and Pockels effect imaging, and then developed an algorithm to analyze and visualize the electric field within the crystals' bulk. In one of the two crystals the size and distribution of inclusions within the bulk promised to be more favorable in terms of efficiency as a detector crystal. However, the Te inclusions were arranged in characteristic 'planes'. Pockels imaging revealed an accumulation of charges in the region of these planes. We demonstrated that the planes induced stress within the bulk of the crystal that accumulated charges, thereby causing non-uniformity of the internal electric field and degrading the detector's performance.

Date Published: 11 September 2009
PDF: 7 pages
Proc. SPIE 7449, Hard X-Ray, Gamma-Ray, and Neutron Detector Physics XI, 74491A (11 September 2009); doi: 10.1117/12.830214

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 7449:
Hard X-Ray, Gamma-Ray, and Neutron Detector Physics XI
Ralph B. James; Larry A. Franks; Arnold Burger, Editor(s)