Published online by Cambridge University Press: 25 February 2011
We have studied the effects of chemical etching in potassium iodide(KI) aqueous solution, vacuum exposure and bulk heating on the photoluminescence(PL) spectra of mercuric i0dide(HgI2). Different contact materials deposited onto HgI2 were also investigated, such as Pd, Cu, Al, Ni, Sn, In, Ag and Ta. These processing steps and the choice of a suitable electrode material are very important in the manufacturing of high-quality mercuric iodide nuclear detectors. Comparisons are made between the front surface photoluminescence and transmission photoluminescence spectra.