scholarly journals Performance and Applications of Silicon Carbide Neutron Detectors in Harsh Nuclear Environments

2021 ◽  
Vol 253 ◽  
pp. 11003
Author(s):  
Frank H. Ruddy ◽  
Laurent Ottaviani ◽  
Abdallah Lyoussi ◽  
Christophe Destouches ◽  
Olivier Palais ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Silicon Carbide ◽  
High Temperature ◽  
Room Temperature ◽  
Nuclear Reactor ◽  
State Of The Art ◽  
Radiation Detectors ◽  
Low Noise ◽  
Nuclear Radiation ◽  
High Radiation ◽  
Neutron Detectors

Silicon carbide (SiC) semiconductor is an ideal material for solid-state nuclear radiation detectors to be used in high-temperature, high-radiation environments. Such harsh environments are typically encountered in nuclear reactor measurement locations as well as high-level radioactive waste and/or “hot” dismantlingdecommissioning operations. In the present fleet of commercial nuclear reactors, temperatures in excess of 300 °C are often encountered, and temperatures up to 800 °C are anticipated in advanced reactor designs. The wide bandgap for SiC (3.27 eV) compared to more widely used semiconductors such as silicon (1.12 eV at room temperature) has allowed low-noise measurements to be carried out at temperatures up to 700 °C. The concentration of thermally induced charge carriers in SiC at 700 °C is about four orders of magnitude less than that of silicon at room temperature. Furthermore, SiC radiation detectors have been demonstrated to be much more resistant to the effects of radiation-induced damage than more conventional semiconductors such as silicon, germanium, or cadmium zinc telluride (CZT), and have been demonstrated to be operational after extremely high gamma-ray, neutron, and charged-particle doses. The purpose of the present review is to provide an updated state of the art for SiC neutron detectors and to explore their applications in harsh high-temperature, high-radiation nuclear reactor applications. Conclusions related to the current state-of-the-art of SiC neutron detectors will be presented, and specific ideal applications will be discussed.

Silicon Carbide Die Attach Scheme for 500°C Operation

2000 ◽  
Vol 622 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liang-Yu Chen ◽  
Gary W. Hunter ◽  
Philip G. Neudeck
Keyword(s):  
Silicon Carbide ◽  
High Temperature ◽  
Electrical Resistance ◽  
Room Temperature ◽  
Semiconductor Devices ◽  
Single Crystal Silicon ◽  
Film Material ◽  
Crystal Silicon ◽  
Pure Alumina ◽  
Die Attach

ABSTRACTSingle crystal silicon carbide (SiC) has such excellent physical, chemical, and electronic properties that SiC based semiconductor electronics can operate at temperatures in excess of 600°C well beyond the high temperature limit for Si based semiconductor devices. SiC semiconductor devices have been demonstrated to be operable at temperatures as high as 600°C, but only in a probe-station environment partially because suitable packaging technology for high temperature (500°C and beyond) devices is still in development. One of the core technologies necessary for high temperature electronic packaging is semiconductor die-attach with low and stable electrical resistance. This paper discusses a low resistance die-attach method and the results of testing carried out at both room temperature and 500°C in air. A 1 mm2 SiC Schottky diode die was attached to aluminum nitride (AlN) and 96% pure alumina ceramic substrates using precious metal based thick-film material. The attached test die using this scheme survived both electronically and mechanically performance and stability tests at 500°C in oxidizing environment of air for 550 hours. The upper limit of electrical resistance of the die-attach interface estimated by forward I-V curves of an attached diode before and during heat treatment indicated stable and low attach-resistance at both room-temperature and 500°C over the entire 550 hours test period. The future durability tests are also discussed.

Physical Properties of SiC

MRS Bulletin ◽  
1997 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 25-29 ◽  
Author(s):  
W.J. Choyke ◽  
G. Pensl
Keyword(s):  
Silicon Carbide ◽  
High Temperature ◽  
Physical Properties ◽  
Chemical Bond ◽  
High Power ◽  
National Program ◽  
High Radiation ◽  
Electrical Switching ◽  
Oil Drilling ◽  
Drilling Technology

While silicon carbide has been an industrial product for over a century, it is only now emerging as the semiconductor of choice for high-power, high-temperature, and high-radiation environments. From electrical switching and sensors for oil drilling technology to all-electric airplanes, SiC is finding a place which is difficult to fill with presently available Si or GaAs technology. In 1824 Jöns Jakob Berzelius published a paper which suggested there might be a chemical bond between the elements carbon and silicon. It is a quirk of history that he was born in 1779 in Linköping, Sweden where he received his early education, and now, 172 years later, Linkoping University is the center of a national program in Sweden to study the properties of SiC as a semiconductor.

Development of a 300°C capable SiC based operational amplifier

2010 ◽  
Vol 2010 (HITEC) ◽  
pp. 000305-000309 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vinayak Tilak ◽  
Cheng-Po Chen ◽  
Peter Losee ◽  
Emad Andarawis ◽  
Zachary Stum
Keyword(s):  
Silicon Carbide ◽  
High Temperature ◽  
Operational Amplifier ◽  
Room Temperature ◽  
Open Loop ◽  
Common Source ◽  
Loop Gain ◽  
Long Term Stability ◽  
Silicon Silicon

Silicon carbide based ICs have the potential to operate at temperatures exceeding that of conventional semiconductors such as silicon. Silicon carbide (SiC) based MOSFETs and ICs were fabricated and measured at room temperature and 300°C. A common source amplifier was fabricated and tested at room temperature and high temperature. The gain at room temperature and high temperature was 7.6 and 6.8 respectively. A SiC MOSFET based operational amplifier was also fabricated and tested at room temperature and 300°C. The small signal open loop gain at 1kHz was 60 dB at room temperature and 57 dB at 300°C. Long term stability testing at 300°C of the MOSFET and common source amplifiers showed very little drift.

Influence of High-Temperature Bias Stress on Room-Temperature VT Drift Measurements in SiC Power MOSFETs

2019 ◽  
Vol 963 ◽  
pp. 757-762
Author(s):  
Daniel B. Habersat ◽  
Aivars Lelis ◽  
Ronald Green
Keyword(s):  
High Temperature ◽  
Room Temperature ◽  
Elevated Temperatures ◽  
State Of The Art ◽  
Charge Trapping ◽  
High Temperature Stress ◽  
Test Method ◽  
Power Mosfets ◽  
Temperature Bias ◽  
Bias Stress

Our results reinforce the notion of the need for an improved high-temperature gate bias (HTGB) test method — one which discourages the use of slow (greater than ~1 ms) threshold-voltage (VT) measurements at elevated temperatures and includes biased cool-down if room temperature measurements are performed, to ensure that any ephemeral effects during the high-temperature stress are observed. The paper presents a series of results on both state-of-the-art commercially-available devices as well as older vintage devices that exhibit enhanced charge-trapping effects. Although modern devices appear to be robust, it is important to ensure that any new devices released commercially, especially by new vendors, are properly evaluated for VT stability.

The Fabrication of Mercuric Iodide Detectors for Use in Wavelength Dispersive X-Ray Analysers and Backscatter Photon Measurements

1982 ◽  
Vol 16 ◽  
Author(s):  
John H. Howes ◽  
John Watling
Keyword(s):  
Room Temperature ◽  
Gamma Ray ◽  
Surface Passivation ◽  
Electrical Contact ◽  
Scintillation Counter ◽  
Radiation Detectors ◽  
Nuclear Radiation ◽  
Gamma Ray Spectrometry ◽  
Mercuric Iodide ◽  
X Ray

ABSTRACTThis paper describes the fabrication of mercuric iodide nuclear radiation detectors suitable for X and gamma ray spectrometry at room temperature. The active area of the detectors studied are between 0.2 and 1.5cm sq and they are up to 0.5mm thick. The method of producing a stable electrical contact to the crystal using sputtered germanium has been studied. The X-ray resolution of a 1.5cm sq. area detector at 32 keV is 2.3 keV FWHM when operated at room temperature in conjunction with a time variant filter amplifier. A factor which is important in the fabrication of the detector is the surface passivation necessary to achieve a useful detector life.This type of detector has been used on a wavelength dispersive X-ray spectrometer for energy measurements between 10 and 100 keV. The advantages over the scintillation counter, more commonly used, is the improved resolution of the HgI2 detector and its smaller size. The analyser is primarily used for the detection of low levels of heavy metals on particulate filters. The detectors have also been used on an experimental basis for gamma ray backscatter measurements in the medical field.

Silicon Carbide Radiation Detectors: Progress, Limitations and Future Directions

2013 ◽  
Vol 1576 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frank H. Ruddy
Keyword(s):  
Silicon Carbide ◽  
Rapid Development ◽  
Chemical Vapor ◽  
Radiation Detectors ◽  
Neutron Detectors ◽  
Future Directions ◽  
Materials Development ◽  
Late Twentieth ◽  
Manufacturing Techniques ◽  
Further Development

ABSTRACTSilicon carbide has long been a promising material for semiconductor applications in high-temperature environments. Although silicon carbide radiation detectors were demonstrated more than a half century ago, the unavailability of high-quality materials and device manufacturing techniques hindered further development until about twenty years ago. In the late twentieth century, the development of advanced SiC crystal growth and epitaxial chemical vapor deposition methods spurred rapid development of silicon carbide charged particle, X-ray and neutron detectors. The history and status of silicon carbide radiation detectors as well as the influence of materials and device packaging limitations on future detector development will be discussed. Specific silicon carbide materials development needs will be identified.

Ultra Low Noise Epitaxial 4H-SiC X-Ray Detectors

2009 ◽  
Vol 615-617 ◽  
pp. 845-848 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giuseppe Bertuccio ◽  
S. Caccia ◽  
Filippo Nava ◽  
Gaetano Foti ◽  
Donatella Puglisi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Detection Efficiency ◽  
State Of The Art ◽  
Reverse Current ◽  
Radiation Detectors ◽  
Low Noise ◽  
Active Volume ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Pixel Detectors ◽  
Schottky Junctions ◽  
Sic Wafer

The design and the experimental results of some prototypes of SiC X-ray detectors are presented. The devices have been manufactured on a 2’’ 4H-SiC wafer with 115 m thick undoped high purity epitaxial layer, which constitutes the detection’s active volume. Pad and pixel detectors based on Ni-Schottky junctions have been tested. The residual doping of the epi-layer was found to be extremely low, 3.7 x 1013 cm-3, allowing to achieve the highest detection efficiency and the lower specific capacitance of the detectors. At +22°C and in operating bias condition, the reverse current densities of the detector’s Schottky junctions have been measured to be between J=0.3 pA/cm2 and J=4 pA/cm2; these values are more than two orders of magnitude lower than those of state of the art silicon detectors. With such low leakage currents, the equivalent electronic noise of SiC pixel detectors is as low as 0.5 electrons r.m.s at room temperature, which represents a new state of the art in the scenario of semiconductor radiation detectors.

Silicon Carbide Vertical JFET Operating at High Temperature

2008 ◽  
Vol 600-603 ◽  
pp. 1063-1066 ◽  
Author(s):  
Konstantin Vassilevski ◽  
Keith P. Hilton ◽  
Nicolas G. Wright ◽  
Michael J. Uren ◽  
A.G. Munday ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Silicon Carbide ◽  
High Temperature ◽  
Temperature Dependence ◽  
Power Law ◽  
Current Density ◽  
Electron Mobility ◽  
Room Temperature ◽  
Protective Atmosphere ◽  
State Resistance ◽  
A Current

Trenched and implanted vertical JFETs (TI-VJFETs) with blocking voltages of 700 V were fabricated on commercial 4H-SiC epitaxial wafers. Vertical p+-n junctions were formed by aluminium implantation in sidewalls of strip-like mesa structures. Normally-on 4H-SiC TI-VJFETs had specific on-state resistance (RO-S ) of 8 mW×cm2 measured at room temperature. These devices operated reversibly at a current density of 100 A/cm2 whilst placed on a hot stage at temperature of 500 °C and without any protective atmosphere. The change of RO-S with temperature rising from 20 to 500 °C followed a power law (~ T 2.4) which is close to the temperature dependence of electron mobility in 4H-SiC.

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