Characterization of Redlen CZT detectors for x-ray astronomy

Abstract

We present the results of ongoing characterization of Cadmium Zinc Telluride (CZT) semiconductors produced by Redlen Technologies for use in X-ray astronomy. The fully fabricated hybrid detectors consist of CZT crystals with a collecting area of 2 cm x 2 cm and thickness of 3mm mounted on a custom ASIC originally designed for the Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) mission, which launched in 2012. We present the results of electronic noise, inter-pixel conductance, and leakage current tests as well as spectral calibration using an ^(241)Am source. Despite high electronic noise due to errors in fabrication, we are able to compare characteristics of the Redlen CZT detectors to those of the CZT detectors produced by eV Products aboard NuSTAR.

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