First results of a novel Silicon Drift Detector array designed for low energy X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy

We developed a trapezoidal shaped matrix with 8 cells of Silicon Drift Detectors (SDD) featuring a very low leakage current (below 180 pA/cm2 at 20 \ub0C) and a shallow uniformly implanted p+ entrance window that enables sensitivity down to few hundreds of eV. The matrix consists of a completely depleted volume of silicon wafer subdivided into 4 square cells and 4 half-size triangular cells. The energy resolution of a single square cell, readout by the ultra-low noise SIRIO charge sensitive preamplifier, is 158 eV FWHM at 5.9 keV and 0 \ub0C. The total sensitive area of the matrix is 231 mm2 and the wafer thickness is 450\u3bcm. The detector was developed in the frame of the INFN R&D project ReDSoX in collaboration with FBK, Trento. Its trapezoidal shape was chosen in order to optimize the detection geometry for the experimental requirements of low energy X-ray fluorescence (LEXRF) spectroscopy, aiming at achieving a large detection angle. We plan to exploit the complete detector at the TwinMic spectromicroscopy beamline at the Elettra Synchrotron (Trieste, Italy). The complete system, composed of 4 matrices, increases the solid angle coverage of the isotropic photoemission hemisphere about 4 times over the present detector configuration. We report on the layout of the SDD matrix and of the experimental set-up, as well as the spectroscopic performance measured both in the laboratory and at the experimental beamline. \ua9 2015 Elsevier B.V

PixDD: a multi-pixel silicon drift detector for high-throughput spectral-timing studies

The Pixelated silicon Drift Detector (PixDD) is a two-dimensional multi-pixel X-ray sensor based on the technology of Silicon Drift Detectors, designed to solve the dead time and pile-up issues of photon-integrating imaging detectors. Read out by a two-dimensional self-triggering Application-Specific Integrated Circuit named RIGEL, to which the sensor is bump-bonded, it operates in the 0:5 — 15 keV energy range and is designed to achieve single-photon sensitivity and good spectroscopic capabilities even at room temperature or with mild cooling (< 150 eV resolution at 6 keV at 0 °C). The paper reports on the design and performance tests of the 128-pixel prototype of the fully integrated system

The large area detector onboard the eXTP mission

The Large Area Detector (LAD) is the high-throughput, spectral-timing instrument onboard the eXTP mission, a flagship mission of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the China National Space Administration, with a large European participation coordinated by Italy and Spain. The eXTP mission is currently performing its phase B study, with a target launch at the end-2027. The eXTP scientific payload includes four instruments (SFA, PFA, LAD and WFM) offering unprecedented simultaneous wide-band X-ray timing and polarimetry sensitivity. The LAD instrument is based on the design originally proposed for the LOFT mission. It envisages a deployed 3.2 m2 effective area in the 2-30 keV energy range, achieved through the technology of the large-area Silicon Drift Detectors - offering a spectral resolution of up to 200 eV FWHM at 6 keV - and of capillary plate collimators - limiting the field of view to about 1 degree. In this paper we will provide an overview of the LAD instrument design, its current status of development and anticipated performance

Silicon Carbide Microstrip Radiation Detectors

Compared with the most commonly used silicon and germanium, which need to work at cryogenic or low temperatures to decrease their noise levels, wide-bandgap compound semiconductors such as silicon carbide allow the operation of radiation detectors at room temperature, with high performance, and without the use of any bulky and expensive cooling equipment. In this work, we investigated the electrical and spectroscopic performance of an innovative position-sensitive semiconductor radiation detector in epitaxial 4H-SiC. The full depletion of the epitaxial layer (124 µm, 5.2 × 1013 cm−3) was reached by biasing the detector up to 600 V. For comparison, two different microstrip detectors were fully characterized from −20 °C to +107 °C. The obtained results show that our prototype detector is suitable for high resolution X-ray spectroscopy with imaging capability in a wide range of operating temperatures.Funding agencies: Italian National Institute of Nuclear Physics (INFN)Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare; Italian Space Agency (ASI) - Linkoping University</p

Simulation of 4H-SiC detectors for ultra fast particle spectroscopy

We present a study on the high speed detection capability of Nickel/4H-SiC Schottky junctions for protons and alpha particles with different energies in the MeV range. The particle path and the distribution of the deposited energy were calculated by SRIM. The detector current signals are calculated by adding the contributions of all generated charge along the particle path. The voltage signals across a 50 Ω resistor load are also derived considering the detector capacitance. Simulations have been performed for different particle energies and detector bias voltages. The fastest simulated response to a 5.5 MeV alpha particle shows a rise-time of 330 ps and a pulse width of 730 ps FWHM, which are in good agreement with experimental values. Similar values have been predicted for 2 MeV protons

Dispositivo preamplificatore di carica e apparato di rivelazione di radiazioni comprendente il dispositivo

È descritto un dispositivo preamplificatore di carica (100) integrato in una piastrina di materiale semiconduttore (200) comprendente: un ingresso (IN) per un segnale di ingresso (iIN) ed un’uscita (OUT) per un segnale di uscita (vOUT); un substrato di materiale semiconduttore (202) drogato secondo un primo tipo di conduttività; uno strato elettricamente isolante (204) disposto su detto substrato (202); un condensatore di retroazione (Cf) integrato nella piastrina (200) e comprendente un primo elettrodo (3) collegato all'ingresso (IN) ed un secondo elettrodo (2) collegato all'uscita (OUT). Il secondo elettrodo (2) è formato da una regione conduttiva drogata (205) avente un secondo tipo di conduttività, opposto al primo tipo di conduttività, ed integrata nel substrato (202) in modo da risultare affacciata al primo elettrodo (3)