Silicon carbide for high resolution X-ray detectors operating up to 100°C

This work presents experimental results on the possibility of high resolution X-ray spectroscopy in a wide temperature range, from room temperature up to 100°C without any cooling system, using Silicon Carbide (SiC) detectors. This capability arises from the very low noise of SiC detectors at high temperature because of their extremely low-leakage current density (20 pA/cm2 at 24°C and 1 nA/cm2 at 107°C with mean electric fields of 120 kV/cm). Spectra of 241Am acquired by a pixel SiC detector are reported with equivalent noise energies of 315 eV FWHM at 27°C and 797 eV FWHM at 100°C. The contributions of the different noise sources of the detector and of the front-end electronics are determined and analyzed. The potential for SiC X-ray detectors and open issues in SiC technology are highlighted.