Advances in silicon carbide X-ray detectors

• The latest advances in SiC X-ray detectors are presented: a pixel detector coupled to a custom ultra-low noise CMOS preamplifier has been characterized at room and high temperature. An equivalent noise energy (ENE) of 113 eV FWHM, corresponding to 6.1 electrons r.m.s., has been achieved with the detector/front- end system operating at 30 °C. A Fano factor of F = 0.10 has been estimated from the 55Fe spectrum. When the system is heated up to 100 °C, the measured ENE is 163 eV FWHM (8.9 electrons r.m.s.). It is determined that both at room and at high temperature the performance are fully limited by the noise of the front-end electronics. It is also presented the capability of SiC detectors to operate in environments under unstable temperature conditions without any apparatus for temperature stabilization; it has been proved that a SiC detector can acquire high resolution X-ray spectra without spectral line degradation while the system temperature changes between 30 °C and 75 °C.

Subject headings

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Fysik (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Physical Sciences (hsv//eng)

Keyword

Silicon carbide

Semiconductor radiation detectors

X-ray detectors

X-ray spectroscopy

Low noise electronics

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

art (subject category)