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Germanium Detectors for MeV Gamma-Ray Astrophysics with the Compton Spectrometer and Imager

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Abstract

Germanium semiconductor detectors—particularly high-purity germanium (HPGe) detectors—have been the technology of choice for decades for applications that require excellent energy resolution and good stopping power for MeV gamma rays. Modern advances in contact fabrication enable the fine segmentation of large-volume HPGe detectors to locate individual energy depositions in 3D, not just 2D, which makes possible the accurate reconstruction of Compton-scatter tracks. We describe the state-of-the-art HPGe detectors on the Compton Spectrometer and Imager (COSI), a telescope designed to study MeV gamma rays from astrophysical sources in the Milky Way Galaxy and beyond. These detectors require careful calibration to achieve the simultaneous objectives of spectroscopy with high spectral resolution, imaging of point and diffuse sources, and polarimetry of transient and persistent sources. COSI, previously a successful balloon-borne instrument, is now a funded NASA Small Explorer space mission, slated for launch in 2027 (NASA press release: https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-selects-gamma-ray-telescope-to-chart-milky-way-evolution).

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Notes

  1. 1.

    This section draws heavily from the publication [20]: Beechert, Lazar, et al., Calibrations of the Compton Spectrometer and Imager, Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment, Volume 1031, 2022, 166510, ISSN 0168-9002, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nima.2022.166510.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Space Sciences Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA

    Jacqueline Beechert & Hadar Lazar

  2. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA

    Albert Y. Shih

Authors
  1. Jacqueline Beechert
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  2. Hadar Lazar
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  3. Albert Y. Shih
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Correspondence to Jacqueline Beechert .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Stanford University, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, CA, USA

    Conny Hansson

  2. Emerging Technologies CMOS Inc., Port Moody, BC, Canada

    Krzysztof (Kris) Iniewski

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Beechert, J., Lazar, H., Shih, A.Y. (2024). Germanium Detectors for MeV Gamma-Ray Astrophysics with the Compton Spectrometer and Imager. In: Hansson, C., Iniewski, K.(. (eds) X-ray Photon Processing Detectors. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-35241-6_10

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-35241-6_10

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