Low Energy X-Ray and $\gamma$-Ray Detectors Fabricated on n-Type 4H-SiC Epitaxial Layer

Schottky barrier diode (SBD) radiation detectors have been fabricated on n-type 4H-SiC epitaxial layers and evaluated for low energy x- and γ-rays detection. The detectors were found to be highly sensitive to soft x-rays in the 50 eV to few keV range and showed 2.1 % energy resolution for 59.6 keV gamma rays. The response to soft x-rays for these detectors was significantly higher than that of commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) SiC UV photodiodes. The devices have been characterized by current-voltage (I-V) measurements in the 94-700 K range, thermally stimulated current (TSC) spectroscopy, x-ray diffraction (XRD) rocking curve measurements, and defect delineating chemical etching. I-V characteristics of the detectors at 500 K showed low leakage current ( nA at 200 V) revealing a possibility of high temperature operation. The XRD rocking curve measurements revealed high quality of the epitaxial layer exhibiting a full width at half maximum (FWHM) of the rocking curve ~3.6 arc sec. TSC studies in a wide range of temperature (94-550 K) revealed presence of relatively shallow levels ( ~0.25 eV) in the epi bulk with a density ~7×10
¹³
cm
^-3
related to Al and B impurities and deeper levels located near the metal-semiconductor interface.