Ion Microprobe Study of the Polarization Quenching Techniques in Single Crystal Diamond Radiation Detectors

Abstract

Synthetic single crystal diamond grown using the chemical vapor deposition technique constitutes an extraordinary candidate material for monitoring radiation in extreme environments. However, under certain conditions, a progressive creation of space charge regions within the crystal can lead to the deterioration of charge collection efficiency. This phenomenon is called polarization and represents one of the major drawbacks associated with using this type of device. In this study, we explore different techniques to mitigate the degradation of signal due to polarization. For this purpose, two different diamond detectors are characterized by the ion beam-induced charge technique using a nuclear microprobe, which utilizes MeV energy ions of different penetration depths to probe charge transport in the detectors. The effect of polarization is analyzed by turning off the bias applied to the detector during continuous or discontinuous irradiation, and also by alternating bias polarity. In addition, the beneficial influence of temperature for reducing the effect of polarization is also observed. Finally, the effect of illuminating the detector with light is also measured. Our experimental results indicate that heating a detector or turning off the bias, and then applying it during continuous irradiation can be used as satisfactory methods for recovering the CCE value close to that of a prepolarized state. In damaged regions, illumination with white light can be used as a standard method to suppress the strength of polarization induced by holes.