A microstrip detector is a particle detector that consists of a large number of identical
semiconductor
A semiconductor is a material which has an electrical resistivity and conductivity, electrical conductivity value falling between that of a electrical conductor, conductor, such as copper, and an insulator (electricity), insulator, such as glas ...
strips laid out along one axis of a two-dimensional structure, generally by
lithography
Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the immiscibility of oil and water. The printing is from a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by the German a ...
. The geometrical layout of the components allows to accurately reconstruct the track of an incoming particle of
ionizing radiation
Ionizing radiation (or ionising radiation), including nuclear radiation, consists of subatomic particles or electromagnetic waves that have sufficient energy to ionize atoms or molecules by detaching electrons from them. Some particles can travel ...
.
Silicon microstrip detectors are a common design used in various experiments.
The detection mechanism consists of the production of electron-hole pairs in a layer of
silicon
Silicon is a chemical element with the symbol Si and atomic number 14. It is a hard, brittle crystalline solid with a blue-grey metallic luster, and is a tetravalent metalloid and semiconductor. It is a member of group 14 in the periodic tab ...
a few hundreds of micrometers thick. The free
electrons
The electron ( or ) is a subatomic particle with a negative one elementary electric charge. Electrons belong to the first generation of the lepton particle family,
and are generally thought to be elementary particles because they have no ...
are drifted by an electric field created by a pattern of anodes and cathodes interdigitated on the surface of the silicon and separated by a SiO
2 insulator.
See also
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Semiconductor detector
A semiconductor detector in ionizing radiation detection physics is a device that uses a semiconductor (usually silicon or germanium) to measure the effect of incident charged particles or photons.
Semiconductor detectors find broad applicati ...
*
Hybrid pixel detector Hybrid pixel detectors are a type of ionizing radiation detector consisting of an array of diodes based on semiconductor technology and their associated electronics. The term “hybrid” stems from the fact that the two main elements from which th ...
References
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Particle detectors