Performance of an AGATA asymmetric detector

Each major technical advance in gamma‐ray detection devices has resulted in significant new insights into the structure of atomic nuclei. The next major step in gamma‐ray spectroscopy involves achieving the goal of a 4π ball of germanium detectors by using the technique of gamma‐ray energy tracking in electrically segmented germanium crystals. The resulting spectrometer will have an unparalleled level of detection power for nuclear electromagnetic radiation. Collaborations have been established in Europe (AGATA) [1] and the USA (GRETA/GRETINA) [2] to build gamma‐ray tracking spectrometers. This paper discusses the performance of the first AGATA (Advanced GAmma Tracking Array) asymmetric detector that has been tested at the University of Liverpool. The use of a fully digital data acquisition system has allowed detector charge pulse shapes from a selection of well defined photon interaction positions to be analysed, yielding important information on the position sensitivity of the detector.