Pushing the Limits: Advanced SiC Detectors for Operation in Harsh Environments

by Dr Giulio Pellegrini (Centro Nacional de Microelectrónica (IMB-CNM-CSIC) (ES))

Friday 4 Jul 2025, 11:00 → 12:15 Europe/Zurich

40/S2-D01 - Salle Dirac (CERN)

Silicon carbide (SiC) detectors are emerging as key components for radiation monitoring in extreme environments, including ultra-high dose rate (UHDR) FLASH radiotherapy, nuclear physics, high energy physics and  plasma diagnostic in fusion reactors. This talk will present the technological development and characterization of SiC p–n diodes for UHDR dosimetry and neutron detection. Diodes with 3 μm 4H-SiC epitaxial layers showed linear response up to 11 Gy per pulse under ultra-high pulse dose rate electron beam.

SiC's superior radiation hardness and thermal stability make it ideal for diagnostics in fusion reactors, where neutron fluences can reach 10¹⁸ n/cm² and temperatures exceed 200 °C. 100 and 50 μm-thick diodes demonstrated effective neutron detection using 6LiF and 10B conversion layers, achieving up to 6 ± 1% thermal neutron detection efficiency, validated by PHITS simulations. The performance of SiC radiation sensors were also evaluated across the temperature range of 25 °C to 450 °C to assess their functionality as detectors for fast ion losses in plasma diagnostics of future nuclear fusion reactors. Unlike conventional silicon detectors, SiC devices withstand these harsh conditions and enable compact, real-time diagnostics for key plasma properties.
The talk will also present the first prototype of SiC detector fabricated for the ISRS (ISOLDE Superconducting Recoil Separator) project aimed at studying radioactive nuclei produced at the energy levels of interest by different reaction mechanisms.
Future developments include thin detectors for beam monitors and SiC-based LGADs for timing/tracking in high-energy physics and nuclear physics supporting robust radiation monitoring across medical, scientific, and energy applications.

 

Coffee will be served at 10:30