Studies of the Characteristics of a Silicon Neutron Sensor

Electrical characteristics and neutron dosimetry properties of silicon based p-i-n diodes are presented in support of the applications in the sensors for beam monitoring and medical physics. Both the current-voltage (I-V) and capacitance-voltage (C-V) characteristics of silicon planar p-i-n diode sensors with cylindrical geometry have been theoretically modeled and experimentally measured. The shifts of the forward and reverse diode characteristics of the sensors versus the neutron dose have been obtained. It is shown that the neutron irradiation caused shift of the forward voltage of the p-i-n diodes is proportional to the current at which it is measured in the case of the low level injection or to the square root of the current in the case of the high level injection. The C-V characteristics and the full depletion voltages of the diodes have been estimated and experimentally verified. It is shown that the sensitivity of planar cylindrical structures as neutron sensors can be optimized by the selection of the device geometry and the current at which the measurement is performed.