Large Area SiC LET Detectors for Space Science Applications

The wide band gap and high displacement energy of silicon carbide (SiC) give it thermal stability and radiation hardness properties to make it attractive as Linear Energy Transfer (LET) radiation detectors for harsh environments. Large area detectors of 2 cm² and larger are required for space science applications, introducing challenges of noise and energy resolution due to the size. This study improves on the previous work in this area, demonstrating alpha particle energy resolution of under 0.1 dE/E, nearing the limit of the diffusion of the source particles in air, with leakage current consistently under 1 nA. Polarization effects are observed but can be mitigated with pulsed biasing. The importance of silicon on the metallization interfaces is noted and suggests a path towards more improvements in detector design for future work.