Position sensing with non-uniform electrode designs on high-resistivity silicon

The fabrication and operation of position-sensitive silicon detectors is reported. P-type high-resistivity silicon (>10 kOmega-cm) of thickness 550 mum is used as the substrate on which non-uniform anode patterns are formed. An aluminum-semiconductor architecture is used to form a rectifying junction, which can serve as a means by which single-sided non-uniform position sensing devices are rapidly developed. The junction properties are found to be highly sensitive to microscopic variations in the interface characteristics which, in a macroscopic device, can lead to resolution loss. The signal readout and the processing of non-uniform electrode patterns is also discussed.