Development of Prototype Pixellated PIN CdZnTe Detectors

We report initial results from the design and evaluation of two pixellated PIN Cadmium Zinc Telluride detectors and an ASIC-based readout system. The prototype imaging PIN detectors consist of 4 × 4 1.5 mm square indium anode contacts with 0.2 mm spacing and a solid cathode plane on 10 × 10 mm CdZnTe substrates of thickness 2 mm and 5 mm. The detector readout system, based on low noise preamplifier ASICs, allows for parallel readout of all channels upon cathode trigger. This prototype is under development for use in future astrophysical hard X-ray imagers with 10-600 keV energy response. Measurements of the detector uniformity, spatial resolution, and spectral resolution will be discussed and compared with a similar pixellated MSM detector. Finally, a prototype design for a large imaging array is outlined.