Silicon photodiode soft X-ray detectors for pulsed power experiments

Silicon photodiodes offer a number of advantages over conventional photocathode type soft X-ray detectors in pulsed power experiments. These include a nominally flat response, insensitivity to surface contamination, low voltage biasing requirements, sensitivity to low energy photons, excellent detector to detector response reproducibility, and ability to operate in poor vacuum or gas backfilled experiments. Silicon photodiodes available from International Radiation Detectors (IRD), Torrance, California have been characterized for absolute photon response from 1 eV to 10 keV photon energy, time response, and signal saturation levels. Our calibration measurements show factor of ten deviations from the silicon photodiode theoretical flat response due to diode sensitivity outside the center 'sensitive area'. Detector response reproducibility between diodes appears to be better than 5%. Time response measurements show a 10-90% rise time of about 0.1 nanoseconds and a fall time of about 0.5 nanoseconds.