Laboratory of Nonequilibrium Processes in Semiconductors

Semiconductor Detector Research and Development Group

Current Research Focus
Group Staff
Recent Publications
Recent Investigations
Overview of the Group Experience
Contact Information

Welcome to the website of the Semiconductor Detector Research and Development Group. The group has a long-term experience in scientific research and elaboration of different types of semiconductor detectors of nuclear radiation. The work in this field has been started in 1960s to fulfill the needs of Soviet Union atomic industry and science. Shortly thereafter the designed silicon and germanium detectors were applied in the main research centers like Dubna, Protvino and in a number of nuclear industry facilities.
Throughout the 1970s, 1980s the group maintained its leadership position in physics of semiconductor detectors in the Soviet Union. As a result, precise silicon planar detectors with the energy resolution close to a theoretical value were realized and numerous types of detectors for alfa and betta-radiation and X-ray detection were developed for scientific applications, medicine, nuclear technology and environmental control.
In earlier 1990s the group expanded into the area of research and development of silicon planar detectors and photodiodes for High-Energy Physics (HEP). These activities are carried out in collaboration with international institutions - Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), USA, and CERN, and as a joint work with Research Institute of Material Science and Technology (RIMST), Zelenograd, Moscow. Investigation of Si detectors for High-Energy Physics is closely related to radiation damage, and the basic goal here is the achievement of radiation hardened Si detector performance.
Significant activities that are favored by the group to physical investigations of detectors give an important support in R&D projects and development of custom designed Si detectors for HEP and medical imaging. Our interests also deal with the study of wide bandgap compound semiconductors (GaAs, SiC) for their application as a detecting media.

Current Research Focus
  1. Research and development of Si detectors for High-Energy Physics
    The group participates in the investigations on development of radiation hardened Si detectors for High-Energy Physics in the frame of Large Hadron Collider (LHC) program at CERN and under long-term cooperation with Brookhaven National Laboratory, USA, in the following objectives:
    Development of silicon radiation hardened detectors for experiments at CERN LHC
    Two main approaches for improvement of detector radiation hardness are examined:
    • material engineering (RD48 collaboration [1]);
    • detector operation at cryogenic temperatures (RD39 collaboration [2]).
    The group has responsibilities in the follow subjects:
    • investigation of radiation induced defects with deep levels in different types of silicon [3, 4];
    • investigation of electric field profile in detectors at different stages of degradation [5, 6];
    • effect of electric field distribution on the charge collection efficiency;
    • investigation of trapping related effects:
      detector polarization [7],
      electric field manipulation by current injection [8],
      recovery of detector characteristics at cryogenic temperature (Lazarus effect [1]).
    Development of detectors for the future experiments at high luminosity colliders
    This project is carried out under INTAS-CERN-RD39 project and is focused on the significant increase (more than 10 times) of the maximal operational detector fluence.
    The designed approach is promising with respect to the insensitivity to the type of radiation including neutrons that is the still the main problem for the existing detectors.
    Development of high resolution Transient Current Technique for investigation of cryogenic and segmented semiconductor detectors
    The technique was successfully used in the group as a main method for the confirmation of the models of detector operation and as a tool for definition of radiation induced defect parameters. The future improvement implies the achievement of the subnanosecond time resolution important for investigation of Si thin and low temperature operated detectors and presice mapping of the electric field profile in microstrip/pixel detectors.
  2. Design of silicon photodetector and X-ray detector arrays for high resolution medical imaging
    This work is based on the results of multiple guard ring Si detector study [9] and is concentrated on the development of large silicon monolithic pixel arrays operated with scintillator, or for direct detection of low energy X-rays. The array design enables achievement room temperature operation with low leakage current and low noise.
  3. Detectors for solar neutrino spectroscopy based on GaAs
    The idea of application of GaAs as a media for solar neutrino detection is based on the fact that neutrinos react with gallium atoms forming the crystal lattice of GaAs detectors and produce electrons, which are detected directly inside the detector. The study of charge collection efficiency in semi-insulating GaAs detectors, which is the main responsibility of the group in this project, has shown that this value is controlled by carrier trapping to the energy levels of intrinsic anti-site defects and can be improved by filling of these levels via additional carrier injection [10, 11].
  4. Investigation of SiC epitaxial films for radiation detectors
    The interest to this SiC as a detecting media is related to its advantages with respect to operation at high temperature and high chemical and radiation tolerance. The group participates in the study of transport properties of sublimation epitaxial grown SiC films processed in Ioffe Institute (Laboratory of Semiconductor Devices Physics). It has been shown that degradation of the main carrier and electrical detector parameters occurs starting from the proton fluence of 1015 cm-2 [12, 13]. Ion detection with transistor-like structures showed the signal gain up to 50.
  5. Development and manufacturing of custom designed Si planar detectors
    This group activity is based on the full set of tools through scientific studies till manufacturing, which the group offers in collaboration with Research Institute of Material Science and Technology. It allows fabrication of detectors of two main families - PAD and SEGMENTED ones, of virtually any shape and dimension of the active area up to 100 mm diameter for numerous fields which include: photo and X-ray detection, charge particles and betta-spectrometry, relativistic particle detection in HEP.
    The available offers:
    • Scientific support of projects;
    • Layout design;
    • Photomask fabrication;
    • Single or double side planar technology;
    • Technology optimization for your specific project;
    • Production up to 100 wafers/month;
    • Quality control;
    • Custom defined parameter characterization.

Group Staff
Nikita Strokan Head of the project on ion spectroscopy with semiconductor detectors,
Professor, Ph.D., Sci.D.,
Leading Researcher
Vladimir Eremin Head of the projects on Si detectors for High Energy Physics and medical imaging,
Ph.D.,
Senior Researcher
Elena Verbitskaya Ph.D.,
Senior Researcher
Alexandr Ivanov Ph.D.,
Senior Researcher
Igor Il'yashenko Staff Researcher

Collaborators

Zheng Li Head of the Silicon Detector Development & Processing Lab.,
Instrumentation Division, Brookhaven National Laboratory, USA
Anatoly Sidorov Head of Semiconductor Detector Laboratory,
Research Institute of Material Science and Technology, Zelenograd, Russia

Recent Publications (1998-2001)
  1. G. Lindstroem et al. Radiation Hard Silicon Detectors - Developments by the RD48 (ROSE) Collaboration. Nucl. Instr. & Meth. in Phys. Res. A 466 (2001) 308-326.
  2. K. Borer et al. Charge collection efficiency of irradiated silicon detector operated at cryogenic temperatures. Nucl. Instr. and Meth., A440 (2000) 5-16.
  3. V. Eremin, A. Ivanov, E. Verbitskaya, Z. Li, S.U. Pandey. Analysis of Divacancy Related Traps Induced by Proton, Neutron and Gamma Radiation in High Resistivity Silicon Detectors. Nucl. Instr.& Meth., A426 (1999) 120-125.
  4. Z. Li, B. Dezillie, M. Bruzzi, W. Chen, V. Eremin, E. Verbitskaya, and P. Weilhammer. HTLT Oxygenated Silicon Detectors: Radiation Hardness and Long Term Stability. Pres. 8th Pisa Meeting on Advanced Detectors, May 21-27, 2000, La Biodola, Isola d'Elba, Italy; Nucl. Instr.& Meth. (in press)
  5. Z. Li, C.J. Li, V.Eremin, and E.Verbitskaya Direct observation and measurements of neutron induced deep levels responsible for Neff changes in high resistivity silicon detectors using TCT. Nucl. Instr.& Meth. A A388 (1997) pp.297-307
  6. B. Dezillie, Z. Li, V. Eremin, W. Chen, and L.J. Zhao. The Effect of Oxygen Impurities on Radiation Hardness of FZ Silicon Detectors for HEP after Neutron, Proton and Gamma Irradiation. IEEE Trans. Nucl. Sci. 47 (2000) 1892-1897.
  7. B. Dezillie, V. Eremin, Z. Li and E. Verbitskaya. Polarization of Silicon Detectors by Minimum Ionizing Particles, Nucl. Instr. and Meth., A 452 (2000) 440-453.
  8. E. Verbitskaya et al. Optimization of Electric Field Distribution by Free Carrier Injection in Silicon Detectors operated at Low Temperatures, 2000 IEEE Nuclear Science Symposium Conference Record, pp.200-205; Trans. Nucl. Sci. (in press).
  9. N. Egorov, V. Eremin, S. Golubkov, K. Konkov, Z. Li, and A. Sidorov. Operation of guard rings on the ohmic side of n+-p-p+ diodes. Nucl. Instr.& Meth., A426 (1999) 197-205.
  10. E. Verbitskaya, V. Eremin, A. Ivanov, N. Strokan, V. Vasil`ev, A. Markov, A. Polyakov, V. Gavrin, Yu. Kozlova, E. Veretenkin, T. J. Bowles. Charge collection efficiency in SI GaAs grown from melts with variable composition as a material for solar neutrino detection, A 439 (2000) 634-646.
  11. V. Eremin, E. Verbitskaya. Present status and predictions on large volume GaAs detector development. Proc. X Internat. School "Particles and Cosmology", Baksan, April, 1999, pp. 350-362.
  12. A.A.Lebedev, N.B.Strokan, A.M.Ivanov, D.V.Davydov, V.V.Kozlovskii. Thin heavily compensated 6H-SiC epilayers as nuclear particle detectors. Material Science Forum, Vols. 353-356, 2001, pp.763-766.
  13. A.M. Ivanov et al. Radiation hardness of SiC based ions detectors for influence of the relative protons. Abstracts of E-MRS 2001 Spring Meeting, p. F-25.

Recent Investigations (2004 - 2005)
On the basis of modern 4H-SiC CVD films detectors with the record energy resolution for world practice are received. Calculations are fulfiled and the value of a theoretical limit of the resolution caused by fundamental process, - by scattering on nucleus of silicon and carbon,- is established [1-4].

Investigations on project " Radiation hardness of SiC-films to high fluences of 8 MeV protons " within the frame of joint work with CERN collaboration RD-50 are spent. Fluences of radiation are close to that LHCollider. Modelling on 8 MeV protons has shown, that the basic detectors characteristics are kept [5-10].

As concern to research of material properties, - the technique of diffusion length definition of micrometer range is developed [11].

References

  1. A.M. Ivanov, E.V. Kalinina, A.O. Konstantinov, G.A. Onushkin, N.B. Strokan, G.F. Kholujanov, A. Hallen. "High-Resolution Short Range Ion Detectors Based on 4H-SiC Films". Technical Physics Letters, 30, 575-577 (2004).
  2. N.B. Strokan, A.M. Ivanov, E.V. Kalinina, G.F. Kholujanov, G.A. Onushkin, N.B. Strokan, D.V. Davydov, G.N. Violina "Spectrometry of Short-Range Ions Using Detectors Based on 4H-SiC Films Grown by Chemical Vapor Deposition". Semiconductors, 39, 364-369 (2005).
  3. A. Ivanov, E. Kalinina, G. Kholuyanov, N. Strokan, G. Onushkin A. Konstantinov, À. Hallen, A. Kuznetsov. "High Energy Resolution Detectors Based on 4H-SiC" Mater. Sci. Forum, 483-485, 1029-1032 (2005).
  4. N.B. Strokan, A.M. Ivanov, A.A. Lebedev, M.Syvajarvi and R.Yakimova. "The Limiting Energy Resolution of SiC Detectors in Ion Spectrometry". Semiconductors, 39, 1420-1425 (2005).
  5. N.B. Strokan, A.M. Ivanov, A.A. Lebedev. "SiC Nuclear-Radiation Detectors" in "SiC Power Materials" Zhe Chuan Feng (Ed.), p. 411-445, Springer 2004.
  6. A.A. Lebedev, A.M. Ivanov, N.B. Strokan. "Radiation Resistance of SiC and Nuclear-Radiation Detectors Based on SiC Films". Semiconductors, 38, 125-147 (2004).
  7. N.B. Strokan, A.M. Ivanov, N.S. Savkina, A.A. Lebedev, V.V. Kozlovski, M. Syvajarvi, R. Yakimova. "Radiation Resistance of Transistor- and Diode-Type SiC Detectors Irradiated with 8-MeV Protons". Semiconductors, 38, 807-811 (2004).
  8. N.B. Strokan, A.M. Ivanov, N.S. Savkina, A.A. Lebedev, V.V. Kozlovski, M.Syvajarvi, R.Yakimova "Investigation of the SiC Transistor and Diode Nuclear Detectors at 8 MeV Proton Irradiation" Mater. Sci. Forum, 483-485, 1025-1028 (2005).
  9. A.M. Ivanov, A.A. Lebedev, N.B. Strokan. "Transport of the charge carriers in structure of the SiC detector after extremal radiation fluence" to be published in "Semiconductors".
  10. A.M. Ivanov, A.A. Lebedev, N.B. Strokan. "Influence of extreme fluences of radiation on characteristics of SiC-detectors of nuclear particles" to be published in "Semiconductors".
  11. N.B. Strokan, A.M. Ivanov, A.A. Lebedev, M.Syvajarvi and R.Yakimova. "Measurement of Micrometer Diffusion Lengths by Nuclear Spectrometry". Semiconductors, 39, 1394-1398 (2005).

Overview of the group experience

Contact Information

Tel.: +7 812 247 9953
Fax: +7 812 247 1017
E-mail: vladimir.eremin@pop.ioffe.rssi.ru
Contact person: Vladimir Eremin

Semiconductor Detector Research and Development Group
Laboratory of Nonequilibrium Processes in Semiconductors
Ioffe Physico-Technical Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences
Politekhnicheskaya 26,
St.Petersburg, 194021 Russia

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