Annealing effect of the 6H-SiC semiconductor detector for alpha particles

Alpha-particle detectors based on 6H-SiC semiconductor were fabricated and their electrical and radiation performances were measured. Detector structure was Au/Ni/6H-SiC/Ni/Au multi-layer structure. The current-voltage characteristics of the SiC detectors were measured and the radiation response was evaluated by Pu-238 with 5.5 MeV alpha particles at room temperature in air. The 6H-SiC detectors were annealed by a rapid temperature annealing (RTA) device at 100 and 300 degrees C for 10 min. The Schottky barrier heights (SBHs) of detectors were determined according to annealing processes. The SBHs of 6H-SiC detector were increased as annealing temperature increases. From I-V measurement leakage currents at a biased voltage were decreased as annealing temperature increased. As a result, Au/Ni/6H-SiC type of alpha-particle semiconductor detector showed good performance after thermal treatment up to 300 degrees C. (c) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.