Study of radiation tolerance of Cu(In,Ga)Se2 detector

• Published in: Nuclear instruments & methods in physics research. Section A, Accelerators, spectrometers, detectors and associated equipment Accelerators, spectrometers, detectors and associated equipment, 2024-10, Vol.1067, Article 169637
• Main Authors: Itabashi, K., Fujii, S., Imura, M., Isobe, T., Miyahara, M., Nishinaga, J., Okumura, H., Togawa, M.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: CIGS; Radiation-hard detector; Radiation-hard solar cell
• ISSN: 0168-9002
• DOI: 10.1016/j.nima.2024.169637

A Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGS) semiconductor has been widely developed as a solar cell. It is known to have a radiation damage recovery mechanism brought about by a process of thermal annealing. We investigated the radiation damage recovery mechanism though two irradiation experiments at HIMAC and CYRIC. In the HIMAC experiment, a 2 μm-thick CIGS detector was irradiated with a 400 MeV/u Xe ion (132Xe+54) beam, and the collected charge from Xe signal was observed. After Xe beam irradiation with a dose of 0.6 MGy, collected charge from the Xe beam was deteriorated to 51% of initial state. However, it recovered to 97% after 2 h dark annealing at 130 °C. In the CYRIC experiment, 70 MeV protons with a fluence of 7.5×1015MeVneq/cm2 were irradiated to CIGS solar cells. After dark annealing at 130 °C for 1 h, a short circuit current density (JSC) recovered from 57% to 85% of the initial state. On the other hand, it took about 34 h for the JSC to recover from 50% to 85% at 90 °C. From these two irradiation experiments, it appeared that the radiation damage recovery mechanism is effective for the CIGS detector, the amount of recovery having a strong dependence on annealing temperature. [Display omitted] •Semiconductor detector’s performances degrade by radiation damage.•A CIGS solar cell has an ability to recover from radiation damage though thermal annealing.•The degradation of collected charge by 132Xe54+ irradiation is recovered by thermal annealing at 130 °C.•The recovery characteristic of radiation damage in CIGS semiconductor is also beneficial for detectors.•The recovery speed of proton irradiation damage in CIGS solar cells strongly depends on the annealing temperature.