Homogenization theory for the cumulative effect of Te inclusions in CdZnTe radiation detectors

In this paper, homogenization theory based on a multiple scale perturbation of the charge-transport equation is used to derive a mathematical framework for modeling the cumulative effect of Te inclusions in radiation detectors based on semi-insulating cadmium zinc telluride (CdZnTe). The derived framework naturally incorporates a wide range of physical models that may posit either a reduced electron lifetime due to enhanced trapping at inclusions, or an altered carrier speed due to a distorted electric field at inclusions, or both. The new framework is applied to a simplified version of the geometric model introduced by Bolotnikov et al. [Nucl. Instrum. Methods Phys. Res. A 571, 687 (2007)], and it is shown that this results in a closed-form approximation to the reduced electron trapping time that depends in a rather simple way on fundamental inclusion parameters such as their mean size and number density. It is also demonstrated that this effective trapping time compares well with previously published si...