Radiation-induced conductivity of doped silicon in response to photon, proton and neutron irradiation

The opto-electronic performance of semiconductors during reactor operation is restricted by radiation-induced conductivity (RIC) and the synergistic effects of neutrons/ions and photons. The RICs of Si due to photons, protons and pulsed neutrons have been evaluated, aiming at radiation correlation. Protons of 17 MeV with an ionizing dose rate of 103 Gy/s and/or photons (hν=1.3 eV) were used to irradiate impurity-doped Si (2×1016 B atoms/cm3) at 300 and 200 K. Proton-induced RIC (p-RIC) and photoconductivity (PC) were intermittently detected in an accelerator device. Neutron-induced RIC (n-RIC) was measured for the same Si in a pulsed fast-fission reactor, BARS-6, with a 70-μs pulse of 2×1012 n/cm2 (E>0.01 MeV) and a dose rate of up to 6×105 Gy/s. The neutron irradiation showed a saturation tendency in the flux dependence at 300 K due to the strong electronic excitation. Normalization of the electronic excitation, including the pulsed regime, gave a fair agreement among the different radiation environments. Detailed comparison among PC, p-RIC and n-RIC is discussed in terms of radiation correlation including the in-pile condition.