Testing of planar hydrogenated amorphous silicon sensors with charge selective contacts for the construction of 3D- detectors

TL;DR

This paper explores the fabrication and testing of planar hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) detectors with charge selective contacts, aiming to develop 3D detector geometries for improved radiation detection and dosimetry.

Contribution

It introduces a novel fabrication approach using charge selective contacts via atomic layer deposition for a-Si:H detectors, advancing 3D detector development.

Findings

Charge selective contacts function effectively in planar a-Si:H detectors.

Leakage current measurements indicate low noise levels.

X-ray dosimetric tests show promising detection capabilities.

Abstract

Hydrogenated Amorphous Silicon (a-Si:H) is a material well known for its intrinsic radiation hardness and is primarily utilized in solar cells as well as for particle detection and dosimetry. Planar p-i-n diode detectors are fabricated entirely by means of intrinsic and doped PECVD of a mixture of Silane (SiH4) and molecular Hydrogen. In order to develop 3D detector geometries using a-Si:H, two options for the junction fabrication have been considered: ion implantation and charge selective contacts through atomic layer deposition. In order to test the functionality of the charge selective contact electrodes, planar detectors have been fabricated utilizing this technique. In this paper, we provide a general overview of the 3D fabrication project followed by the results of leakage current measurements and x-ray dosimetric tests performed on planar diodes containing charge selective contacts to investigate the feasibility of the charge selective contact methodology for integration with the proposed 3D detector architectures.