The effect of charge collection recovery in silicon p–n junction detectors irradiated by different particles

• Published in: Nuclear instruments & methods in physics research. Section A, Accelerators, spectrometers, detectors and associated equipment Accelerators, spectrometers, detectors and associated equipment, 2003-11, Vol.514 (1-3), p.47-61
• Main Authors: Verbitskaya, E., Abreu, M., Anbinderis, P., Anbinderis, T., D'Ambrosio, N., de Boer, W., Borchi, E., Borer, K., Bruzzi, M., Buontempo, S., Casagrande, L., Chen, W., Cindro, V., Dezillie, B., Dierlamm, A., Eremin, V., Gaubas, E., Gorbatenko, V., Granata, V., Grigoriev, E., Grohmann, S., Hauler, F., Heijne, E., Heising, S., Hempel, O., Herzog, R., Härkönen, J., Ilyashenko, I., Janos, S., Jungermann, L., Kalesinskas, V., Kapturauskas, J., Laiho, R., Li, Z., Mandic, I., De Masi, Rita, Menichelli, D., Mikuz, M., Militaru, O., Niinikoski, T.O., O'Shea, V., Pagano, S., Palmieri, V.G., Paul, S., Perea Solano, B., Piotrzkowski, K., Pirollo, S., Pretzl, K., Rato Mendes, P., Ruggiero, G., Smith, K., Sonderegger, P., Sousa, P., Tuominen, E., Vaitkus, J., da Viá, C., Wobst, E., Zavrtanik, M.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Carrier trapping; Charge collection efficiency; Electric field distribution; Radiation hardness; Silicon detectors
• ISSN: 0168-9002; 1872-9576
• DOI: 10.1016/j.nima.2003.08.083

The recovery of the charge collection efficiency (CCE) at low temperatures, the so-called ”Lazarus effect”, was studied in Si detectors irradiated by fast reactor neutrons, by protons of medium and high energy, by pions and by gamma-rays. The experimental results show that the Lazarus effect is observed: (a) after all types of irradiation; (b) before and after space charge sign inversion; (c) only in detectors that are biased at voltages resulting in partial depletion at room temperature. The experimental temperature dependence of the CCE for proton-irradiated detectors shows non-monotonic behaviour with a maximum at a temperature defined as the CCE recovery temperature. The model of the effect for proton-irradiated detectors agrees well with that developed earlier for detectors irradiated by neutrons. The same midgap acceptor-type and donor-type levels are responsible for the Lazarus effect in detectors irradiated by neutrons and by protons. A new, abnormal “zigzag”-shaped temperature dependence of the CCE was observed for detectors irradiated by all particles (neutrons, protons and pions) and by an ultra-high dose of γ-rays, when operating at low bias voltages. This effect is explained in the framework of the double-peak electric field distribution model for heavily irradiated detectors. The redistribution of the space charge region depth between the depleted regions adjacent to p+ and n+ contacts is responsible for the “zigzag”- shaped curves. It is shown that the CCE recovery temperature increases with reverse bias in all detectors, regardless of the type of radiation.