Studies of neutron irradiation of avalanche photodiodes using 252Cf

Results on the radiation hardness of photodiodes to fast neutrons are presented. Four photodiodes (three avalanche photodiodes from two manufacturers, and one PIN photodiode) were exposed to neutrons from a 252Cf source at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The effects of this radiation on many parameters such as gain, intrinsic dark current, quantum efficiency, noise, capacitance, and voltage and temperature coefficients of the gain for these devices for fluences up to ∼2×1013 neutrons/cm2 are shown and discussed. While degradation of APDs occurred during neutron irradiation, they remained photosensitive devices with gain.