Detector performance of ammonium-sulfide-passivated CdZnTe and CdMnTe materials

Dark currents, including those in the surface and bulk, are the leading source of electronic noise in X-ray and gamma detectors, and are responsible for degrading a detector's energy resolution. The detector material itself determines the bulk leakage current; however, the surface leakage current is controllable by depositing appropriate passivation layers. In previous research, we demonstrated the effectiveness of surface passivation in CZT (CdZnTe) and CMT (CdMnTe) materials using ammonium sulfide and ammonium fluoride. In this research, we measured the effect of such passivation on the surface states of these materials, and on the performances of detectors made from them.