Charge collection efficiency of GaAs detectors studied with low-energy heavy charged particles

Epitaxially grown GaAs layers have recently been produced with sufficient thickness and low enough free carrier concentration to permit their use as radiation detectors. Initial tests have shown that the epi-material behaves as a classical semiconductor as the depletion behaviour follows the square root dependency on the applied bias. This article presents the results of measurements of the growth of the active depletion depth with increasing bias using low-energy protons and alpha particles as probes for various depths and their comparison to values extrapolated from capacitance measurements. From the proton and alpha particle spectroscopic measurements, an active depth of detector material that collects 100% of the charge generated inside it was determined. The consistency of these results with independent capacitance measurements supports the idea that the GaAs epi-material behaves as a classical semiconductor.