• output signal proportional to gamma-ray energy;
• high efficiency i.e. high absorption coefficient;
• easy mechanism for collecting the detector signal;
• good energy resolution;
• good stability over time, temperature and operating parameters.

The two main types of detector used for gamma-ray spectroscopy are:

• semiconductor detectors; and
• scintillation detectors.

This section contains the following topics:

Band structure in solids
Impurity types
Semiconductor detector
Scintillation detectors
Photomultiplier
Detector comparison
Questions