High Purity Germanium: From Gamma-Ray Detection to Dark Matter Subterranean Detectors

Abstract

High purity germanium remains the material of choice for the detection of photons in the range of MeV or higher, down to the hard X-ray range. Since the operation of HPGe-based detectors is possible only at or below the liquid nitrogen temperature, their advantage is mainly the resolution, which matches the Fano factor if appropriate cooled electronic readout is used. We focus here on present-day applications of HPGe detectors, which are now broader than ever despite the recent development of room-temperature photon detectors based on binary compounds. We present in particular dark matter detectors and γ -ray trackers as examples of the recent applications of HPGe as a detecting medium. More generally, we discuss the future of γ -ray detectors and the role that the semiconductor detectors will keep with respect to alternative detection materials. This chapter is an introduction to this general topic, and the reader is encouraged to refer to research and review articles on this subject published in the past or recently.