Detectors with Intrinsic Amplification

Abstract

Contrary to gas detectors, semiconductor detectors usually provide only the primary ionization as signal charge. This mode of operation is possible because of the low energy needed for producing a signal electron (3.6 eV in silicon compared with ≈ 30 eV in gases) and the availability of very low noise electronics. The measurement of the primary ionization avoids the dependence on gain variation of the detector and therefore leads to stable operation in spectroscopic measurements.