TCAD Simulations of Radiation Damage in 4H-SiC

TL;DR

This paper advances TCAD simulation models to analyze radiation damage in 4H-SiC detectors, verifying the approach with silicon data and matching neutron-irradiated 4H-SiC measurements, aiding development of radiation-hard sensors.

Contribution

It introduces an improved TCAD simulation framework for 4H-SiC radiation damage, validated against experimental data, enhancing predictive modeling for radiation-hard sensor development.

Findings

Simulations confirm flat capacitance in irradiated 4H-SiC detectors.

Decreasing forward current with increased fluence explained by trapped charge carriers.

Modeling aligns well with experimental measurements of neutron-irradiated 4H-SiC.

Abstract

To increase the scientific output of particle physics experiments, upgrades are underway at all major accelerator facilities to significantly improve the luminosity. Consequently, the solid-state detectors used in the experiments will exhibit more severe radiation-induced damage. To ensure sufficiently long sensor lifetimes, alternative materials to the established silicon sensors, with improved resilience to radiation, are investigated. For one of the promising candidate materials, silicon carbide, only recently a model describing the radiation damage in technology aided computer design (TCAD) simulations has been proposed. In this paper we present our latest achievements towards modeling radiation damage of 4H-SiC in TCAD tools. We first verify the utilized TCAD framework against published silicon data and then use it to approximate measurements of neutron-irradiated 4H-SiC particle detectors. We are able to confirm in simulations the measurement results, i.e., an almost flat capacitance as a function of bias voltage and a decreasing forward current with increasing particle fluence. Based on our simulations we are able to explain the latter by trapped charge carriers that create a space charge region within the device.