Cadmium Zinc Telluride Detectors for Safeguards Applications

Cadmium zinc telluride (CZT) semiconductor detectors can be used as medium-resolution gamma-ray spectrometers, with the main advantage of a high portability and operation at room temperature. Their characteristics in terms of detection efficiency and resolution fall between the performance of sodium iodide and germanium detectors. One of the disadvantages of a CZT detector is the presence of a pronounced low-energy tail in the peak shape that complicates the analysis of spectra with overlapping peaks. The range of applications of CZT detectors includes verification measurements of fresh and irradiated nuclear material for safeguarding nuclear materials.