Energy resolution of silicon charged particle detectors

It is shown that the energy resolution of silicon detectors, estimated from α-ray spectra irradiated by a reference α source (i.e., the surface resolution), is not always an indicator of detector quality. The energy resolution found from the spectra of particles that penetrate deeply into the detector material (i.e., the depth resolution) can be quite inferior to the surface resolution. It is proposed that detectors be tested in a quasimochromatic neutron flux.