Pile-up recovery in gamma-ray detection

Count rates in gamma-ray detectors are fundamentally limited at the high end by the physics of the detection process but should not be limited further by the design of read-out. Using intense stimuli, such as the ELI, it is desirable to extract the full wealth of information flow that sensors can deliver. We discuss the photon-statistical limitations of scintillation systems and charge-collection issues of solid-state detectors. With high-speed digitizing in particular, two promising approach architectures are those of posterior list mode corrections and of time-domain adaptive filters, introducing a 'rich list mode with uncertainties' and thus a somewhat different look at experimental spectra. Real-time performance is also considered.