Prospects of a dual range photon detector with SDD and LaBr3(Ce) scintillator

Homeland security applications demand compact, high resolution detectors for gamma and X rays identification. Most commercial instruments use scintillating crystals or CdZnTe detectors. The identification performance is therefore intrinsically linked with the progress in developing crystals with a very high light output (LaBr
3
Ce or SrI
2
) and with the manufacturing of the CdZnTe detectors. A new detector concept is proposed, which essentially improves on the existing resolution limits. It combines two distinct detection mechanisms in a compact, state-of-the-art solid-state detector, providing complementary information in different but overlapping energy ranges. The dual-range detector consists of a LaBr
3
(Ce
³⁺
) scintillator coupled to a silicon drift detector (SDD). The SDD serves as a high-resolution X-ray on its own, and in parallel as a light readout device for the LaBr
3
(Ce
³⁺
) scintillator ensuring best possible resolution at higher energies.