A new generation of X-ray detectors based on silicon carbide

• Published in: Nuclear instruments & methods in physics research. Section A, Accelerators, spectrometers, detectors and associated equipment Vol. 518; no. 1; pp. 433 - 435
• Main Authors: Bertuccio, Giuseppe, Casiraghi, Roberto, Cetronio, Antonio, Lanzieri, Claudio, Nava, Filippo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 01-02-2004
• Subjects: Semiconductor radiation detectors; Silicon Carbide; X-ray detectors; X-ray spectroscopy; X-ray detectors; Semiconductor radiation detectors; Silicon Carbide; X-ray spectroscopy
• ISSN: 0168-9002; 1872-9576
• DOI: 10.1016/j.nima.2003.11.050

We present experimental results on X-ray detectors based on Silicon Carbide (SiC). We demonstrate that SiC allows operating the detectors in a wide temperature range (up to 100°C) with performance, at high temperature, not attainable with any other semiconductor detector presently available. We have realized several detectors on epitaxial 4H–SiC layer. The spectrometer shows ultra low noise due to the extremely low leakage current densities of SiC detectors: 15
pA/cm
2 at 27°C and 525
pA/cm
2 at 107°C. Noise levels of 366
eV FWHM at 27°C and 645
eV FWHM at 94°C, limited by the noise of the silicon front-end transistor, have been measured on
241Am spectra.