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New a-Si:H Photo-Detectors for Long-Term Charge Storage

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 1993

H. Lee
Affiliation:
Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720
G. Cho
Affiliation:
Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720
J.S. Drewery
Affiliation:
Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720
W.S. Hong
Affiliation:
Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720
T. Jing
Affiliation:
Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720
S.N. Kaplan
Affiliation:
Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720
A. Mireshghi
Affiliation:
Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720
V. Perez-Mendez
Affiliation:
Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720
D. Wildermuth
Affiliation:
Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720
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Abstract

Using the high light absorption properties of amorphous silicon, we developed a new device configuration that can detect photons and store the induced charges for relatively long time. This device, coupled to a scintillator such as CsI(Tl) in an array form, could be used as a scintillation camera, or for long-term photo-detection such as radionuclide labeled chromatography. The detector has a simple sandwich structure consisting of a scintillator followed by a top metal layer, p-i-n layers of hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H), a second metal layer, a thin insulating layer and a bottom metal layer. The electron-hole pairs generated in the i-layer by the interaction with the incident light will be separated by the imposed electric field and be stored in the central metal-insulator interface. Readout will be done by switching the external bias to ground after the storage time, which depends on the needs for the specific application. Prototype devices were fabricated and tested. The performances of the devices were analyzed in connection with the storage time and the background signal produced by the thermally generated charges.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 1993

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References

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