Demonstration of an SiC neutron detector for high-radiation environments

Neutron response studies have been performed on Schottky diodes fabricated using 4H-SiC material. These studies indicate that neutron detection using SiC diodes is possible without significant degradation in the energy resolution, noise characteristics or, most importantly, the neutron counting rate even after exposure to neutron fluences of 3.4×10¹⁷ n_th/cm² (1×10¹⁷ n_fast/cm²; E_n.fast >1 MeV), the highest yet examined. The results represent orders of magnitude increased device lifetime in neutron fields compared to commercial silicon based detectors. Additionally, detector response was found to be linear up to thermal neutron fluxes of 2000 n_th/cm²/s. However, degradation in the charge collection efficiency due to neutron damage-induced defects prevented self-biased operation after exposures above ~5.7×10¹⁶ n _th/cm². A carrier removal rate of 9.7±0.7 cm^-1 was calculated from C-V doping profile measurements on neutron irradiated samples. These results demonstrate the viability of SiC-based detectors for a variety of radiation monitoring applications