Behavior of silicon drift detectors in large magnetic fields

A 45/spl times/45 mm rectangular n-type silicon drift detector was studied in magnetic fields ranging from 0 to 4.7 T and for drift fields from 200 to 380 V/cm. Transport properties of electrons in silicon (Hall mobility, drift mobility and magnetoresistance) were determined by pulsing the detector with a Nd:YAG laser at different drift lengths and measuring both the transverse deflections of the signal and the increases in drift time versus applied magnetic field. The width of the signal in both the drift and anode direction increased with magnetic field. The magnetic field was aligned parallel and normal to the the drift direction. The detector was found to operate well for conditions expected in future experiments at the RHIC collider and experiment E896 at Brookhaven National Laboratory.