A Monte Carlo study of K escape phenomena of X-ray spectra in CdTe and Gd2O2S detectors

Abstract

Abstract Detectors can be categorized as energy-integrated detectors (EID) and photon-counting detectors (PCD). Both of them show K x-ray escape effects, leading to potential inaccuracies in spectral data. This paper focuses on investigation of the detector’s K x-ray escape effects on spectra. Geant4-based Monte Carlo simulations were initially validated against literature results. Subsequently, the X-ray escape events and spectra in both a CdTe (PCD) and Gd2O2S (EID) were explored. X-ray spectra generated using Geant4 demonstrated close agreement with the existing literature. The spectra with typical absorption edges were observed in both detectors. This study highlights the successful application of Monte Carlo simulations for spectral measurements and emphasizes impact of K escape effects on X-ray spectra. The positions of escape events are contingent upon the element properties in the detectors, providing valuable insights into understanding K escape effects.