Development of a particle-gamma coincidence detection system built with position-sensitive semiconductor detectors

Abstract

We propose a particle-gamma coincidence detection system consisting of double-sided silicon detectors (DSSDs) and 16-pixellated CdZnTe detectors (16pCZTs) for nuclear reaction studies. The 16pCZTs can be used for gamma-ray spectroscopy, such as energy and linear polarization measurements of gamma rays emitted from reaction residues, while the DSSDs can be used for particle spectroscopy, such as energy measurement and particle identification for reaction ejectiles. Using the DSSDs in conjunction with the 16pCZTs, we can measure the particle-gamma angular correlation and then determine the spin and parity, i.e., the spectroscopic factors, as well as the excitation energy for the nuclear states of reaction residues. Before developing the detection system, we performed a performance test of a DSSD and a 16pCZT with a Ra-226 alpha-decay source and Ba-133 and Na-22 gamma-ray sources. The particle-gamma detection performance was also investigated with a 4601-keV alpha particle emitted from the Ra-226 source and ail 186.3-keV transition gamma ray emitted from the first excited state of Rn-222, and was then compared with the performance of a system consisting of a high-purity germanium detector (HpGe). Despite the poor energy resolution of the 16pCZT, the proposed system is expected to function as an efficient and useful tool for in-beam particle-gamma spectroscopy and other applications because of its compactness and high sensitivity.