Demonstration of an SiC neutron detector for high-radiation environments
- Northrop Grumman Corp., Pittsburgh, PA (United States)
- Energy Systems Technologies, Pittsburgh, PA (United States). Westinghouse Science and Technology Center
- Sterling Semiconductor, VA (United States)
Neutron response studies have been performed on Schottky diodes fabricated using 4H-SiC material. These studies indicate that neutron detection using SiC diodes is possible without significant degradation in the energy resolution, noise characteristics or, most importantly, the neutron counting rate even after exposure to neutron fluences of 3.4 {times} 10{sup 17} n{sub th}/cm{sup 2} (1 {times} 10{sup 17} n{sub fast}/cm{sup 2}; E{sub n,fast} > 1 MeV), the highest yet examined. The results represent orders of magnitude increased device lifetime in neutron fields compared to commercial silicon based detectors. Additionally, detector response was found to be linear up to thermal neutron fluxes of 2000 n{sub th}/cm{sup 2}/s. However, degradation in the charge collection efficiency due to neutron damage-induced defects prevented self-biased operation after exposures above {approximately}5.7 {times} 10{sup 16} n{sub th}/cm{sup 2}. A carrier removal rate of 9.7 {+-} 0.7 cm{sup {minus}1} was calculated from C-V doping profile measurements on neutron irradiated samples. These results demonstrate the viability of SiC-based detectors for a variety of radiation monitoring applications.
- OSTI ID:
- 334081
- Journal Information:
- IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices, Vol. 46, Issue 3; Other Information: PBD: Mar 1999
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Evaluation of SiC semiconductor diode detector degradation in a fast neutron flux
High-voltage (900 V) 4 H-SiC Schottky diodes with a boron-implanted guard p-n junction