First tests with fully depleted PN-CCD's

We have fabricated 280 ..mu..m thick fully depletable pn CCD's on high resistivity silicon ()rho) approx. 2.5 k..cap omega..cm). Its operation is based on the semiconductor drift chamber principle proposed by Gatti and Rheak. They are designed as energy and position sensitive radiation detector for (minimum) ionizing particles and X-ray imaging. Two dimensional semiconductor device modeling demonstrates the basic charge transer mechanisms. Prototypes of the detectors have been tested in static and dynamic conditions. A preliminary charge transfer inefficiency was determined to 6 x 10)sup)minus)3). The charge loss during the transfer is discussed and as a consequence we have developed an improved design for a second fabrication iteration which is now being produced. 4 refs., 15 figs