Performance study of radiation detectors based on semi-insulating GaAs with P+ homo- and heterojunction blocking electrode

✍ Scribed by František Dubecký; Eduard Hulicius; Paola Frigeri; Andrea Perd’ochová-Šagátová; Bohumír Zat’ko; Pavel Hubíkb; Enos Gombia; Pavel Boháček; Jiří Pangrác; Secondo Franchi; Vladimír Nečas

• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 2006
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 185 KB
• Volume: 563
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0168-9002
• DOI: 10.1016/j.nima.2006.01.116

✦ Synopsis

A preliminary study of technology and performance of radiation detectors based on bulk semi-insulating (SI) GaAs with P + blocking electrodes is presented. Detectors with blocking electrode system formed either by P + (GaAs)/N-(SI GaAs) homojunction or P + (Al 0.3 Ga 0.7 As)/N-(SI GaAs) heterojunction are prepared. Room-temperature I-V characteristics, measurement and evaluation of pulse-height spectra using 241 Am and 57 Co radionuclide sources were performed for the characterization of the fabricated detectors. The aim of the study is to verify the possibility to improve the performances of SI GaAs radiation detectors based on the Schottky contact by using the more sophisticated P + -N junction technology. The obtained results and the possibility of future improvements of SI GaAs radiation detectors to be used in digital X-ray imaging are discussed.