Gamma-ray irradiation effects on CdTe solar cell dosimeter

• Published in: Japanese Journal of Applied Physics 2021-05, Vol.60 (SB), p.SBBF02
• Main Authors: Okamoto, Tamotsu, Igari, Tomoya, Fukui, Takahiro, Tozawa, Ryuto, Gotoh, Yasuhito, Sato, Nobuhiro, Okuno, Yasuki, Kobayashi, Tomohiro, Imaizumi, Mitsuru, Akiyoshi, Masafumi
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: CdTe; dosimeter; Electric potential; Gamma rays; II-VI compounds; Neutron flux; Nuclear reactor components; Nuclear reactors; Photovoltaic cells; Pressure vessels; Radiation dosage; Solar cells; thin-film solar cell; Voltage
• ISSN: 0021-4922; 1347-4065
• DOI: 10.35848/1347-4065/abd6d8

Compact and radiation-tolerant radiation dosimeter without bias voltage application using solar cells such as CdTe was proposed for severe radiation environment near a nuclear reactor pressure vessel. In this work, γ-ray tolerance and γ-ray detection characteristics of CdTe solar cells were investigated. It was found that the CdTe solar cell has sufficient tolerance against γ-ray exposure up to 3 MGy. It was demonstrated that γ-ray induced current density linearly increased with increasing γ-ray intensity in the range up to approximately 1.5 kGy h−1. This result indicates that high dose-rate radiation detection can be performed using solar cells without voltage application. In addition, γ-ray sensitivity was successfully improved by a stack of CdTe solar cells with parallel connections. Furthermore, γ rays can be detected with high responsivity and small noise even under a high flux neutron environment.