Mercuric Iodide Photodetectors for Scintillation Spectroscopy

We have measured the responses to 137Cs (662 keV) of both a 1-inch-diam by 2-inch-thick NaI(Tl) scintillator optically coupled to a 1-inch-diam by 800-μm-thick mercuric iodide (HgI2) photodetector, and a 1-cm-diam by 1-cm-thick CaWO4 scintillator coupled to a 1.3-cm-diam by 600-μm-thick HgI2 photodetector. Best spectral resolution to 137Cs was 7.8% FWHM for the NaI(Tl)-HgI2 and 12.5% FWHM for the CaWO4-HgI2 detectors; peak-to-valley ratios were 26:1 and 16:1, respectively. HgI2 detectors operate at room temperature and their use in scintillation spectroscopy presents the ultimate miniaturization of scintillation detectors, limited mainly by the size of the scintillation crystal.