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Dead layer on silicon p-i-n diode charged-particle detectors

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arxiv 1310.1178 v2 pith:OECSLGEK submitted 2013-10-04 physics.ins-det hep-exnucl-ex

Dead layer on silicon p-i-n diode charged-particle detectors

B. L. Wall , J. F. Amsbaugh , A. Beglarian , T. Bergmann , H. C. Bichsel , L. I. Bodine , N. M. Boyd , T. H. Burritt
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Z. Chaoui T. J. Corona P. J. Doe S. Enomoto F. Harms G. C. Harper M. A. Howe E. L. Martin D. S. Parno D. A. Peterson L. Petzold P. Renschler R. G. H. Robertson J. Schwarz M. Steidl T. D. Van Wechel B. A. VanDevender S. W\"ustling K. J. Wierman J. F. Wilkerson
This is my paper
classification physics.ins-det hep-exnucl-ex
keywords deadlayercollectedsiliconcontactdetectorsdiodeenergy
verification ladder T0 review T1 audit T2 compute T3 formal T4 reserved
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Semiconductor detectors in general have a dead layer at their surfaces that is either a result of natural or induced passivation, or is formed during the process of making a contact. Charged particles passing through this region produce ionization that is incompletely collected and recorded, which leads to departures from the ideal in both energy deposition and resolution. The silicon \textit{p-i-n} diode used in the KATRIN neutrino-mass experiment has such a dead layer. We have constructed a detailed Monte Carlo model for the passage of electrons from vacuum into a silicon detector, and compared the measured energy spectra to the predicted ones for a range of energies from 12 to 20 keV. The comparison provides experimental evidence that a substantial fraction of the ionization produced in the "dead" layer evidently escapes by diffusion, with 46% being collected in the depletion zone and the balance being neutralized at the contact or by bulk recombination. The most elementary model of a thinner dead layer from which no charge is collected is strongly disfavored.

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  1. Characterization of Low-energy Ionization Signals in Silicon Detectors for the Nab Experiment

    physics.ins-det 2025-11 conditional novelty 4.0

    Proton energy response of Nab's silicon detectors was stable over a year, with a dead layer of about 55 nm, and the timing model predicts proton time-of-flight bias uncertainty below 0.3 ns.