Fuji Electric Co., Ltd.

Toshikazu Suzuki

Noritada Sato

Osamu Ishiwata

Yasukazu Seki

A semiconductor-based radiation-detector element particularly adapted to neutron detection, and the method for making the same, in which a high sensitivity single-crystal semiconductor substrate has diffused therein at-least-one region of .sup.3 He gas, which remain resident therein, whereby, upon application of an inverse bias to the junction in the semiconductor substrate, the colliding of incident neutrons with the resident .sup.3 He gas results in a reaction which produces hole-electron pairs in the depletion layer within the semiconductor, those hole-electron pairs producing output electrical pulses which appear at the output terminals of the detector for utilization by detection and measuring apparatus connected to the semiconductor-based radiation-detector element.

Semiconductor-based radiation-detector element

A semiconductor-based radiation-detector element particularly adapted to neutron detection, and the method for making the same, in which a high sensitivity single-crystal semiconductor substrate has diffused therein at-least-one region of .sup.3 He gas, which remains resident therein, whereby, upon application of an inverse bias to the junction in the semiconductor substrate, the colliding of incident neutrons with the resident .sup.3 He gas results in a reaction which produces hole-electron pairs in the depletion layer within the semiconductor, those hole-electron pairs producing output electrical pulses which appear at the output terminals of the detector for utilization by detection and measuring apparatus connected to the semiconductor-based radiation-detector element.

A semiconductor device for detecting incident gamma-radiation wherein the output from the device is relatively independent of the energy of the incident radiation. The device includes a semiconductor substrate having a depletion layer formed therein by an applied voltage. The depletion layer is shaped such that it includes a plurality of elongated projections within a plane parallel to the surface of the substrate. The minimum distance between the edge of the substrate and the outer extent of the depletion layer is substantially equal to the average range of mobility of secondary electrons created by the gamma rays having the highest energy of the gamma-rays to be detected. The device further includes means for counting the current pulses generated in the depletion layer by secondary electrons created by the incident gamma rays.

Growing community of inventors

Kawasaki, Japan

Toshikazu Suzuki