APPLICATION OF II-VI MATERIALS TO NUCLEAR-MEDICINE

Semiconductor gamma-ray detector arrays made of II-VI materials such a s CdTe or CdZnTe hold great promise for improving the spatial resoluti on and energy resolution of nuclear medicine imaging systems. This fie ld has benefited greatly from technologies developed in infrared imagi ng. This report surveys the state of the art for producing high-resolu tion semiconductor arrays with emphasis on II-VI materials and conside rs the prospects for producing a semiconductor detector gamma camera. A number of practical designs are reviewed that make use of single-cha rge-carrier dominance effects to improve useful photopeak fraction and thus efficiency.