Large area silicon surface-barrier detector for beta-ray spectroscopy

The construction and operation of silicon surface-barrier detectors with active areas of 200 mm 2 is described. At 77°K, the resolution of the detectors yielded a fwhm of approximately 14 keV for the 625 keV conversion electrons of 137Cs. The pulse height and resolution were found to be constant for reverse biases in the range of 300 to 400 V. At these voltages, the leakage current is less than 0.01 μA.