Proton irradiation on Hydrogenated Amorphous Silicon flexible devices

TL;DR

This study evaluates the radiation damage effects of 3 MeV proton irradiation on flexible hydrogenated amorphous silicon devices, analyzing damage, recovery, and performance for the first combined displacement and ionizing dose test on such devices.

Contribution

It presents the first combined displacement and total ionizing dose radiation test on flexible a-Si:H devices, including effects of annealing for performance recovery.

Findings

Devices showed measurable response changes after irradiation.

Annealing at 100°C for 12 hours partially recovered device performance.

Different device configurations exhibited varying radiation tolerance.

Abstract

Radiation damage tests in hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) flexible flux and dose-measuring devices have been performed with a 3 MeV proton beam, to evaluate combined displacement and total ionizing dose damage. The tested devices had two different configurations and thicknesses. The first device was a 2 um thick n-i-p diode having a 5 mm x 5 mm area. The second device was a 5 um thick charge selective contact detector having the same area. Both the devices were deposited on a flexible polyimide substrate and were irradiated up to the fluence of 1016 neq/cm2. The response to different proton fluxes has been measured before irradiation and after irradiation at 1016 neq/cm2 for charge-selective contacts and n-i-p devices. The effect of annealing for partial performance recovery at 100{\deg}C for 12 hours was also studied and a final characterization on annealed devices was performed. This test is the first combined displacement and total ionizing dose test on flexible a-Si:H devices.