Results from operating pixelated CZT at low-background for the COBRA experiment

The COBRA experiment uses Cadmium Zinc Telluride (CZT) room-temperature semiconductor detectors to search for the rare neutrinoless double-beta decay of 116Cd. While the experiment has produced globally competitive half-life limits with data from coplanar grid CZT detectors, a future large-scale experiment may deploy pixelated detectors to benefit from their increased spatial resolution. A prototype pixelated detector with sixty-four anode pixels of 2.5 mm pitch and a monolithic cathode was tested at the Gran Sasso underground laboratory in early 2010. This contribution will discuss the results of the test and demonstrate the enhanced background reduction and event tracking capabilities provided by pixelated CZT. © 2010 IEEE.