skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Thin film cadmium telluride charged particle sensors for large area neutron detectors

Journal Article · · Applied Physics Letters
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4895925· OSTI ID:22303513
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;  [1]; ;  [2];  [3]
  1. Flexible Display Center, Arizona State University, Phoenix, Arizona 85284 (United States)
  2. Escuela Superior de Física y Matemáticas, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Mexico City 07738 (Mexico)
  3. Universidad Autónoma de la Ciudad de México, Mexico City 09790 (Mexico)

Thin film semiconductor neutron detectors are an attractive candidate to replace {sup 3}He neutron detectors, due to the possibility of low cost manufacturing and the potential for large areas. Polycrystalline CdTe is found to be an excellent material for thin film charged particle detectors—an integral component of a thin film neutron detector. The devices presented here are characterized in terms of their response to alpha and gamma radiation. Individual alpha particles are detected with an intrinsic efficiency of >80%, while the devices are largely insensitive to gamma rays, which is desirable so that the detector does not give false positive counts from gamma rays. The capacitance-voltage behavior of the devices is studied and correlated to the response due to alpha radiation. When coupled with a boron-based neutron converting material, the CdTe detectors are capable of detecting thermal neutrons.

OSTI ID:
22303513
Journal Information:
Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 105, Issue 11; Other Information: (c) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0003-6951
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English