2. Semiconductor sensors

The production of semiconductor detectors (SC) requires the use of extremely pure materials. Unfortunately, the Mendeleiev table offers little choice. Today, thanks to decades of industrial development, only silicon and germanium have reached such technological maturity in terms of crystalline purity that it is possible to produce detectors with excellent performance, particularly in terms of energy resolution. Maximum detector size, however, is dictated by crystalline quality and the density of residual impurities ( § 3.5) ⁽⁸⁾ .