Forest SolidState Detectors
Solid state detectors are basically materials in which a radiation sensitive region of mobile carriers is established with a voltage. A gas chamber in solid form.
What is a semi-conductor
- Valence band
- electrons tightly bound to the crystal's atoms occupy this energy band
- Conduction band
- electrons detached from the parent atom occupy this energy band and are free to roam about the crystal
Energy gap:
The energy gap is about 1 eV for a semi-conductor and about 6 eV for an Insulator. In a Conductor, there is no energy gap. The Valence and Conduction bands overlap.
COnductor
Silcon is the most commonly used material for such detectors. Germanium, Gallium-Arsenide, and diamond are also used.
A min ionizing particle liberates about 300 fC (22000 electrons) in a 300 m thick piece of silicon.