1. Fabrication and performance evaluation of GaN thermal neutron detectors with 6LiF conversion layer*
- Author
-
Qinglei Xiu, Jijun Zou, Junbo Peng, Shaotang Wang, Zhifu Zhu, Haiping Zhang, Wenjuan Deng, Bin Tang, Zhidong Wang, Zhijia Sun, Renbo Wang, and Qu Jinhui
- Subjects
Materials science ,Fabrication ,business.industry ,Detector ,General Physics and Astronomy ,02 engineering and technology ,021001 nanoscience & nanotechnology ,01 natural sciences ,Neutron temperature ,Reverse leakage current ,0103 physical sciences ,Deposition (phase transition) ,Neutron source ,Optoelectronics ,Neutron detection ,010306 general physics ,0210 nano-technology ,business ,Layer (electronics) - Abstract
A GaN-based pin neutron detector with a 6LiF conversion layer was fabricated, and can be used to detect thermal neutrons. Measurement of the electrical characteristic of the GaN-based pin neutron detector showed that the reverse leakage current of the neutron detector was reduced significantly after deposition of a 6LiF conversion layer on the detector surface. The thermal neutrons used in this experiment were obtained from an 241Am–Be fast neutron source after being moderated by 100-mm-thick high-density polyethylene. The experimental results show that the detector with 16.9-μm thick 6LiF achieved a maximum neutron detection efficiency of 1.9% at a reverse bias of 0 V, which is less than the theoretical detection efficiency of 4.1% calculated for our GaN neutron detectors.
- Published
- 2020