Integrated semiconductor quantum dot scintillation detector: Ultimate limit for speed and light yield

Journal Article · Wed Mar 30 00:00:00 EDT 2016 · IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1109/TNS.2015.2502426· OSTI ID:1262337

Oktyabrsky, Serge ^[1]; Yakimov, Michael ^[1]; Tokranov, Vadim ^[1]; Murat, Pavel ^[2]

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1. SUNY Colleges of Nanoscale Science and Engineering, Albany, NY (United States)
2. Fermi National Accelerator Lab. (FNAL), Batavia, IL (United States)

Here, a picosecond-range timing of charged particles and photons is a long-standing challenge for many high-energy physics, biophysics, medical and security applications. We present a design, technological pathway and challenges, and some properties important for realization of an ultrafast high-efficient room-temperature semiconductor scintillator based on self-assembled InAs quantum dots (QD) embedded in a GaAs matrix. Low QD density (<; 10¹⁵ cm^-3), fast (~5 ps) electron capture, luminescence peak redshifted by 0.2-0.3 eV from GaAs absorption edge with fast decay time (0.5-1 ns) along with the efficient energy transfer in the GaAs matrix (4.2 eV/pair) allows for fabrication of a semiconductor scintillator with the unsurpassed performance parameters. The major technological challenge is fabrication of a large volume (> 1 cm³ ) of epitaxial QD medium. This requires multiple film separation and bonding, likely using separate epitaxial films as waveguides for improved light coupling. Compared to traditional inorganic scintillators, the semiconductor-QD based scintillators could have about 5x higher light yield and 20x faster decay time, opening a way to gamma detectors with the energy resolution better than 1% and sustaining counting rates MHz. Picosecond-scale timing requires segmented low-capacitance photodiodes integrated with the scintillator. For photons, the proposed detector inherently provides the depth-of-interaction information.

• Research Organization: Fermi National Accelerator Lab. (FNAL), Batavia, IL (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Science (SC), High Energy Physics (HEP)
• Grant/Contract Number: AC02-07CH11359
• OSTI ID: 1262337
• Report Number(s): FERMILAB-PUB-16-241-PPD; 1466588
• Journal Information: IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science, Vol. 63, Issue 2; ISSN 0018-9499
• Publisher: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
optical waveguides
quantum dots
semiconductor radiation detectors
solid scintillation detectors