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Pakistan Institute of Engineering & Applied Sciences

(PIEAS)
Lectures on
Radiation Detection
Delivered at Workshop in PNRA (April, 2008)
Dr. Nasir M Mirza
Deputy Chief Scientist,
Department of Physics & Applied mathematics,
PIEAS, P.O. Nilore, 45650, Islamabad.

Email: nmm@pieas.edu.pk
Ph: +92 51 9290273 (ext: 3059)
Recommended Text Books
1. Glenn F Knoll s Radiation Detection & Measurement (recent
edition).


Lecture 4:
Semiconductor Detectors
Semiconductor Detectors
Using Solid as Detection Medium
In many radiation detection applications, the use of solid
medium is of great advantage
For high energy electrons and gammas, solid state detectors
are much smaller than gas filled detectors
Scintillation detectors good detection efficiency but poor
resolution ( W value = 100 eV or more)
Energy resolution can be improved by increasing number of
charge carriers possible in semiconductors (much lower W
value)

Semiconductor Diode Detectors
Desirable features of (semiconductor diode detectors) or
solid state detectors
Superior Energy Resolution
Compact Size
Fast Timing Characteristics
Effective Thickness Can be varied according to the
requirement
Semiconductor Materials
Silicon Used for charged particle spectroscopy
Germanium - Used for gamma ray spectroscopy
Band Structure in Solids
Valence Band (V.B)
Corresponds to those outer shell electrons that are bound to
specific lattice sites within the crystal
Conduction Band (C.B)
Represents the electrons that are free to migrate through the
crystal
Forbidden Band (F.B) or Band gap
The size of width determines whether the material is classified
as a semiconductor or insulator

Compensated Materials
If donor and acceptor impurities are present in a
semiconductor in equal concentration, the material is said to be
compensated
Behaves like intrinsic material, therefore designated with I
Although number densities of charge carrier nearly that of
intrinsic material, but due to impurities present may behave
differently
Heavily Doped Material
Thin layers of semiconductor material that have high
concentration of impurities
Has very high conductivity values
Used in making electrical contacts
Denoted by:
n
+
Heavely doped n-type material
p
+
Heavely doped p-type material
Radiation Interaction
Passage of charged particle through semiconductor
production of many e-h pairs along the track
Average energy expended by charged particle called
ionization energy (W) to produce an ion pair in Si or Ge
is about 3 eV as compared to 30 eV in gas detectors
A large # of charge carriers is produced
The increased # of charge carriers has two beneficial
effects on energy resolution
Statistical fluctuation in # of carriers per pulse becomes a small
fraction of the total
Signal to noise ratio of preamplifier is better even at low energies

Charge Collection
In Si or Ge semiconductor detectors, the electron mobility is
within a factor of ~ 2-3 of hole mobility, so the collection
times are much close to being equivalent
Both carrier types must therefore be completely collected for
the resulting pulse for faithful energy measurement

The Semiconductor Junction (Contd.)
Depletion Region
The region over which the charge balance exists is called the
depletion region and extends into both the p and n sides of the
junction
Potential Difference
The buildup of net charge within the region of the junction leads
to the establishment of an electric potential difference across the
junction
Resistivity
The depleted region is compensated of charges, therefore has
high value of resistivity
The Semiconductor Junction (Contd.)
Radiation Interaction
Interaction of radiation within depletion region create e-h pairs in
the region
Electric Field
The existence of electric field across junction
Sweeping the electrons back to n-type material
Sweeping the holes back to p-type material
Electrical Signal
The collection of e-h pairs constitute an electrical signal
The Semiconductor Junction (Contd.)
The depletion region acts as a detector but with a
poor performance due to small value of potential
difference
Signal is lost due to recombination and trapping of
e-h pairs
Signal to Noise Ratio
Thickness of depletion region is small and the
capacitance is large so signal to noise ratio is
decreased
The Semiconductor Junction (Contd.)
Reverse Biasing of the Junction
p-side of the junction is made negative w. r. t. n-side i.e.
connecting p-side of junction with negative terminal of the battery
and n-side of the junction with positive terminal of the battery
Potential difference is enhanced
Minority carriers are attracted across the junction
Thickness of the depletion region
Thickness of the depletion region is increased which is given by



Where c is dielectric constant, V is applied voltage, N dopant
concentration, and e is charge on electron.
2 1

2
|
.
|

\
|
~
N e
V
d
c
Semiconductor Detector Configurations
Diffused Junction Detectors
Surface Barrier Detectors
Ion Implanted Layers
Fully Depleted Detectors
Passive Planer Detectors
Surface Barrier Detectors
Junction Formation
n-type Si crystal
Etching its surface
Oxidation of surface (+ve layer formation)
Electrical Contacts
Evaporation of thin gold layer for electrical
contacts
Oxide layer is intermediate between gold
layer and electrical contact
Detectors Properties
Very thin dead layer
Sensitive to light, operated in darkness
Kept in a cover
Thin entrance window should be handled
carefully (avoid exposure to vapors and
direct handling of surface)

Fully Depleted Detectors
Depletion layer width is given by
So depletion region increases with increasing V
If voltage is increased to such an extent that depletion region
extends fully across silicon wafer then such detectors refer to
fully depleted detectors
Have several advantages over partially depleted detectors so
preferred
1 2
2

V
d
e N
c
~
| |
|
\ .
Leakage Current
When reverse bias is applied across the detector, a small
current is observed without any radiation which is the leakage
current
It is Related to detector:
Bulk volume
Surface area

Leakage Current (Contd.)
Bulk volume leakage current
Minority carriers are conducted across the junction, a
steady current is generated that is prop. to the area of the
junction
Thermal generation of e-h pairs within depletion junction
The rate increases with volume of depletion region. Can
only be reduced by cooling the material
Si detectors can be operated at room tem
Ge detectors can not operated at room temp

Leakage Current (Contd.)
Surface Leakage
Takes place at the edges of the detector due large P.D across the
edges
Depends on
Detector encapsulation
Humidity
Contamination of surface by finger prints
Condensable vapors (vacuum pump oil etc)
Guard ring can reduce the surface leakage
Leakage current changes
Affect resolution of detector
Indicate abnormal behavior of detector
Useful to monitor degree of radiation damage

Dead Layer
Energy loss before reaching the active volume of
Heavely charged particles
Weakly penetrating radiations
Dead layer is due to
The metal electrode
The intermediate thickness of silicon beneath the electrode
The change of electric field
Can be measured experimentally
Energy Calibration
Dead Layer Issues
Application of Silicon Diode Detectors

General Charged Particle Spectroscopy
Alpha Particle Spectroscopy
Fission Fragment Spectroscopy
Particle Identification
Fission Fragment Spectroscopy
Performance Test
Detector performance can be tested with
252
Cf fission fragment
spectroscopy (spectrum).
The spectrum provides a check on detector properties such as
Resolution
Low energy tailing
Internal multiplication in detector
Germanium Gamma-Ray Detectors
General Considerations
Surface barrier and other
junction detectors are
suitable for -particles and
short range radiation.
Thickness of depletion layer
is small (2-3 mm) even with
very high voltages (near
breakdown voltage),
therefore cant be used for
-ray measurements
General Considerations (Contd.)
Thickness of depletion layer is given by

Where V is the reverse bias voltage, is the dielectric constant,
e is the electronic charge, and N is the net impurity concentration
of the bulk semiconductor material
Reverse bias cant increase up to break down voltage, the only
choice is to reduce the impurity level to increase d
The detectors that are manufactured from ultra pure
germanium are called HPGe (high purity germanium)
detectors
The pure crystal impurity level ~10
10
atom/cm
3
which at 1000
Volts corresponds to a d of 10 mm

2 / 1
2
|
.
|

\
|
=
eN
V
d
c
General Considerations (Contd.)
Such a low impurity concentration corresponds to levels that
are less than ppb level
Techniques for Germanium has been developed to achieve the
goal of high purity, but not in silicon
Detectors made of such high purity Germanium are called
HPGe detectors
Depletion region width of several centimeters attained
General Considerations (Contd.)
Second approach is to create compensated material
Residual impurities balanced by equal concentration
of dopant atoms of the opposite type
Process of lithium ion drifting used for perfect compensation
in grown crystals

Configurations of Germanium Detectors
Planar configuration of p-
type HPGe detector
n
+
contact is made of Li
p
+
contact is made of B
Configurations of Germanium Detectors (Contd.)
The detector depletion region is formed by reverse biasing n
+
-p
junction
HPGe detectors are generally operated as fully depleted
detectors
Reverse biasing:
Depletion region begins at n
+
edge and extends deep into p-
region, until detector is fully depleted
Detector are applied some over voltage ----- electric field
becomes high
Impart saturated drift velocities to charge carriers

Configurations of Germanium Detectors (Contd.)
Minimize the collection time
Reduce carrier recombination & trapping
HPGe detectors are operated at 77 K temperature to overcome
the bulk leakage current.
Maximum applied voltage 3-5 kV, limited by break down and
surface leakage.
Detectors can also be fabricated of high purity n-type material.
n
+
and p
+
contacts are provided at each surface of the wafer

Configurations of Germanium Detectors (Contd.)
Reverse biasing:
Roles of the two contacts is reversed
p
+
-layer: serves as the rectifying contact
Depletion region extends from p
+
contact to n-type crystal
n
+
-contact: Functions as a blocking contact
When fully depleted and operated with a large over voltage, the
electric field in the planar detectors is uniform from one contact
to the other
The maximum depth of a planar detector is 1-2 cm
Total active volume does not exceed 10-30 cm
3
.
High capacitance

Configurations of Germanium Detectors (Contd.)
Coaxial Configuration
HPGe is made in a cylindrical geometry
Core of the cylinder is removed
Electrical contacts are provided on outer cylindrical surface and
inner cylindrical surface
Much larger active volumes (~750 cm
3
) can be produced by
larger dimensions in axial direction
Detector capacitance is small by keeping small inner diameter
Configurations of Germanium Detectors (Contd.)
ClosedEnded Coaxial
Reduce leakage current
Provide a planar thin window for weakly penetrating
radiation
Ends are rounded (bulletized) to keep electric field
almost uniform
Welltype Configuration
Sources can be put inside the detector
Detection efficiency is increased

Germanium Detector Operational
Characteristics
An insulated container used especially to store liquefied gases,
having a double wall with a vacuum between the walls and
silvered surfaces facing the vacuum is called a Dewar Flask
Detector cooling
Band gap of Ge ~ 0.7 eV
Therefore thermally induced leakage current at room
temperature
Operation of HPGe at Low temperature
Cooled with Liquid nitrogen (77k) in a dewar
Mechanical closed-cycle refrigeration
For Ge(Li) detectors, temperatures must be kept at 77k as
room temperature will cause a catastrophic redistribution of
the drifted lithium
Germanium Detector Operational
Characteristics (Contd.)
Germanium Detector Operational
Characteristics (Contd.)
Energy Resolution
Best detectors for gamma ray spectroscopy
All -ray spectroscopy of complex energy spectra is
carried out with germanium detectors


Full = Statistical + Charge collection +
Electronics
2 2 2 2
E X D T
W W W W + + =

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