New trends in CdTe and CdZnTe detectors for X- and gamma-ray applications

The CdTe gamma-ray camera IBIS/ISGRI, on board the INTEGRAL satellite launched in October 2002, is currently the largest spectro-imager of this type in the world. The development of this detector, for research in the field of astrophysics, has provided the opportunity to demonstrate the feasibility of massive integration of CdTe nuclear detectors, taking advantage of the CdTe good spectral performances and high modularity. Many other groups in the world work also to further develop detectors using this material in view of improving its spectral performances (crystal quality, electrode geometry and type, electronics and filtering, etc.), the spatial resolution (pixelization of monolithic crystals) and the detection efficiency at high energy (thickness). In this review, I will detail the main directions in which to strive in order to explore these fields in the upcoming years through examples of techniques or applications. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.