Dissertation
STRATEGIES AND CHALLENGES TO IMPROVE SINGLE CRYSTAL YIELD AND DETECTOR PROPERTIES OF CADMIUM ZINC TELLUIRDE GROWN VIA ACCELERATED CRUCIBLE ROTATION
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Washington State University
01/2020
Handle:
https://hdl.handle.net/2376/112023
Abstract
Solid-state radiation detection finds its applications in numerous fields ranging from nuclear
medicine to astrophysics. Although Semiconductors offer better energy and spatial resolution
than Scintillators, their market share is limited by the cost, availability and need for cryogenic
cooling. Cadmium Zinc Telluride (CZT) is a compound semiconductor with attractive properties
for compact device technology for detection of X-rays and Gamma-rays. Over the past few
decades’ numerous efforts are made to grow high-quality CZT, unfortunately to-date it’s
application is limited by large-scale production and cost. Poor thermo-physical properties of
CZT coupled with no strong growth direction make it a challenge to achieve high yield of single
crystalline material. Current industrial flux growth technique is inherently limited by slow
growth rates and requires post-processing. The solution may be found in the Accelerated
Crucible Rotation Technique (ACRT), where the crystal growth is achieved under a forced
convective regime involving periodic rotation of the growth crucible. ACRT induced flow
patterns can homogenize the melt thereby enabling faster growth rates and eliminate the need for
post-processing. Our preliminary results, presented here, show that ACRT can reduce the
production time by a factor of four. Additionally, the application of ACRT has provided the
potential for scale up the growth process. Also discussed are challenges and future strategies in
ACRT coupled CZT growth. Successful completion of this work will enable the use of CZT in
the next generation imaging systems as well as provide a better foundation for understanding and
implementing ACRT in other crystal growth systems. Successful seeding and superior detector resolutions are demonstrated.
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Details
- Title
- STRATEGIES AND CHALLENGES TO IMPROVE SINGLE CRYSTAL YIELD AND DETECTOR PROPERTIES OF CADMIUM ZINC TELLUIRDE GROWN VIA ACCELERATED CRUCIBLE ROTATION
- Creators
- Saketh Kakkireni
- Contributors
- John S McCloy (Advisor)Konstantin Matveev (Committee Member)David P Field (Committee Member)
- Awarding Institution
- Washington State University
- Academic Unit
- Mechanical and Materials Engineering, School of
- Theses and Dissertations
- Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Washington State University
- Number of pages
- 163
- Identifiers
- 99900581808801842
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Dissertation