Comparison Between Silicon Carbide and Diamond for Thermal Neutron Detection at Room Temperature
At a Glance
Section titled “At a Glance”| Metadata | Details |
|---|---|
| Publication Date | 2020-03-16 |
| Journal | IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science |
| Authors | O. Obraztsova, Laurent Ottaviani, B. Geslot, Grégoire de Izarra, Olivier Palais |
| Institutions | CEA Cadarache, Direction des énergies |
| Citations | 17 |
Abstract
Section titled “Abstract”Neutron radiation detector for nuclear reactor applications plays an important role in getting information about the actual neutron flux. Such a detector must be able to operate at high neutron flux levels (>10 <sup xmlns:mml=“http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML” xmlns:xlink=“http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink”>9</sup> cm <sup xmlns:mml=“http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML” xmlns:xlink=“http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink”>-2</sup> s <sup xmlns:mml=“http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML” xmlns:xlink=“http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink”>-1</sup> ) and discriminate the neutron and gamma responses in the nuclear reactor’s mixed neutron-gamma environment. Silicon carbide and diamond are the most attractive semiconductor materials for neutron detection, thanks to their outstanding properties, such as high displacement threshold energy and wide bandgap energy, which allow them to operate in high radiation levels and high temperature. The aim of this article is to compare the ability to detect thermal neutrons of these two semiconductors at the same irradiation conditions. For this purpose, the neutron irradiation tests of detectors were implemented at MINERVE research reactor at CEA Cadarache. The 4H-silicon carbide (SiC) p <sup xmlns:mml=“http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML” xmlns:xlink=“http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink”>+</sup> n diode has demonstrated better neutron-gamma discrimination at 0-V bias voltage than at -200 V which is explained by its increased sensitivity to gamma photons at -200 V caused by a wider charge collection region than at 0 V. Therefore, it is preferable to use the 4H-SiC p <sup xmlns:mml=“http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML” xmlns:xlink=“http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink”>+</sup> n diode without an external electric field for applications in the mixed neutron-gamma environment such as nuclear reactor environment. The results show that the single-crystal chemical vapor-deposited (sCVD) diamond-based detector has better neutron to gamma discrimination, thanks to the use of <sup xmlns:mml=“http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML” xmlns:xlink=“http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink”>6</sup> Li as a neutron converter instead of <sup xmlns:mml=“http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML” xmlns:xlink=“http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink”>10</sup> B. However, the study of the radiation stability of detectors showed that the sCVD diamond-based detector suffers from the “polarization effect” when it operates at a high neutron flux (~10 <sup xmlns:mml=“http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML” xmlns:xlink=“http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink”>9</sup> cm <sup xmlns:mml=“http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML” xmlns:xlink=“http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink”>-2</sup> · s <sup xmlns:mml=“http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML” xmlns:xlink=“http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink”>-1</sup> ).
Tech Support
Section titled “Tech Support”Original Source
Section titled “Original Source”References
Section titled “References”- 2017 - Neutronics instrumentation for the EU ITER TBM