Silicon

https://doi.org/10.1007/s12633-021-00961-4

REVIEW PAPER

Emerging Trends in Nano Structured Silicon Detectors for Neutron

Spectroscopy
Swapna Lilly Cyriac 1 & B. Bindhu 1 & C. V. Midhun 2 & M. M. Musthafa 2

Received: 14 November 2020 / Revised: 6 January 2021 / Accepted: 13 January 2021

# Springer Nature B.V. 2021

Abstract
Neutron detectors are extensively used in numerous applications such as, in nuclear fuels plants, high energy accelerators, space
explorations, imaging etc. Among the commercially available various detectors, 3D semiconductor detectors filled with an
appropriate neutron converter layer were been studied over several years as they are highly sensitive small sensors and could
provide high spectroscopic resolution and energy information with respect to the neutron spectrum of our interest. This paper
reviews the current status of the nano structured silicon (Si) neutron detectors in consideration with their potential application in
neutron spectroscopy. It includes a thorough review on simulation and experimental studies that were already reported in several
literatures to analyse the primary radiation induced imperfections which can modify the response of a Si based detector.

Keywords Neutron detectors . Radiation damages . 3D Si neutron detectors . Perforated Si neutron detectors

1 Introduction to spectrum [1].In addition to this, most of the detectors used

in the industry are highly sensitive to the γ-rays that often
The significant rise in the number of people working in nucle- contaminate the incident neutron fluence. Thus, the detection
ar fuel plants, high energy industrial and medical accelerator of neutrons remains a conundrum in the field of radiation
facilities, national security, metrology, spectrometry, and neu- spectroscopy, as there is no single method to provide a com-
tron dosimetry has led to the accelerated development of neu- bination of information like energy response, sensitivity, ori-
tron detection over the past few decades. Hence, it is highly entation dependence characteristics, and accuracy, which fur-
crucial to develop a small and light detector that has enough ther necessitates the requirement of a new neutron spectrom-
sensitivity to neutrons, and this has become a highly in- eter [2]. It has been reported that detectors having higher den-
demand topic in the area of radiation detection. Neutron de- sity circuits with small sensitive volume can ultimately in-
tectors have various applications, from the simple monitoring creases the detection efficiency of a neutron detector [3].
of neutron fluence to neutron imaging. Current neutron detec- Hence semiconductor based detectors which are compact
tors are designed for certain specific investigations and appli- and are highly responsive to neutrons, can be considered.
cations, and most of them have significant limitations like Silicon (Si) has been considered the perfect semiconductor
insufficient resolution, inadequate field-ability, challenging candidate for neutron detection, as it is relatively cheaper than
geometries, low intrinsic efficiency, and inadequate energy other semiconductor materials and is easily available in puri-
linearity and information regarding the trajectory with respect fied form. In view of the fact that silicon has moderate intrinsic
charge concentration and intrinsic resistivity makes it suitable
for use as detection medium [4]. In addition to that, Si is the
* Swapna Lilly Cyriac
[email protected] perfect semiconductor material for active neutron detection
due to its low atomic number (Z = 14) when compared to other
* B. Bindhu
[email protected] semiconductors based particle detectors such as Ge (Z = 32),
Cadmium Telluride (Cd-Te) (Z = 48/52) etc. and minimum γ-
1
ray interaction probability resulting in higher γ-rejection rate.
Department of Physics, Noorul Islam University, Thuckalay, Tamil
Nadu 629180, India
It has been reported that the maximum possible efficiency of a
2
planar Si semiconductor sensor to detect the thermal neutrons
Department of Physics, University of Calicut,
Thenjipalam, Kerala 673635, India
is up to 4.5 % [5]. 3Dimensional (3D) semiconductor-based
 Silicon

3
detectors can be considered an option, as they can reduce the He based detectors have been preferred over the past few
geometrical constrains on the neutron absorber material, there- decades. These detectors are operated in the pulse- mode so
by making it compact and highly responsive to neutrons [6]. that neutron and γ–ray signals are discriminated on the basis
This paper presents an overview on the current status of the of their amplitude. 6Li is an alternate and is used in inorganic
semiconductor neutron detectors. The study comprises of the scintillators as 6LiI (Eu) crystal. The detection efficiency of
previous and recent researches in neutron detectors and ulti- this highly enriched crystal (96 % 6Li) is very high in the
mately focuses on the development of an alternative detector thermal regimen. However both these scintillator detectors
which could provide good energy resolution and linearity, have some limitations: not just that they are bulky, exhibit
which are coupled with fast rise time and higher spectroscopic slow- rise time, and require costly operating conditions, be-
resolution for neutron detection. sides they have problems in its supply, which makes them
highly expensive [7]. None of these detectors can be utilized
for neutron spectroscopy, other than in the time of flight mode.
2 Background Therefore nowadays semiconductor based neutron detectors
are being investigated widely.
Neutrons being electrically neutral particles cannot ionize the Solid-state neutron detectors are preferred to replace the
material through electromagnetic forces and hence they do it existing methodology as it has many advantageous properties
indirectly by liberating secondary charged particles. So they are such as: they are dense, strong and handy, low bias voltage and
detected through nuclear reactions with the help of these second- less battery consumption, higher count rate ability and quick
ary charged particles such as protons, α-particles and so on. readout system [8]. As we move from gaseous to solid state
Material that converts the incident neutrons into such measurable detectors, detector dimensions can be reduced at the same time
particles, known as neutron converters is combined with a con- the density of the converter materials can be increased. Thus it
ventional radiation detector for the fabrication of a standard neu- permits to cause sufficient ionization by the reaction by-products
tron dosimeter. The convertor material should have larger neu- even though at low range and thereby improving the detection
tron interaction cross section, be highly abundant element, must efficiency. Si is extensively considered in solid state detector as
be cheap and the energy of the reaction (Q- value) should be the perfect sensor candidate whereas; 10B and 6LiF are the fre-
more to discriminate gamma ray (γ) pulses from neutron radia- quently used neutron converters due to its stability, high thermal
tion.. Commonly used converter materials are 10B, 6Li, 3He, neutron cross-section and the range of its reaction products. A
113
Cd, 157Gd and 155Gd (Table 1). Among these, 10B is the typical planar semiconductor sensor comprises of a thin layer of
widely used neutron converter in view of its high thermal neutron the neutron absorber coated on the top of a PIN semiconductor
cross- section (3840 barns). Radiation detectors are classified as structure (Fig. 2) [9, 10].
active and passive detectors depending upon on the time required However, current planar detectors also have limitations
for the readout. Gaseous, semiconductor and scintillation based such as insufficient resolution, inadequate field-ability, chal-
neutron detectors comprises of active detectors, which provide lenging geometries, low intrinsic efficiency, inadequacy of the
immediate response to radiation. Whereas passive detectors in- energy linearity and information regarding the trajectory with
clude activation foils, imaging plates, track detectors etc. do not respect to spectrum [1]. According to the recent advancements
calculate the instantaneous dose and are evaluated later to under- in innovative 3-D semiconductor detectors, small circuits hav-
stand the exposure recorded over time (Fig. 1). ing high density and sensitive can ultimately improve neutron
All the currently available detectors are on the basis of detection efficiency [11, 12]. The key design parameters
ionization of the particles that comes inside the active area which control the detection of neutron in 3-D detectors are
of the detector, which further makes a detectable signal as the active area of the intrinsic layer of PIN semiconductor
charge pulses. Due to high neutron-gamma discrimination, structure and the cross section as well as the Q-value of the

Table 1 Neutron capture

reactions of the converter Capture Reaction Thermal-neutron capture
materials cross section (barns)

n+ 3He → 3H (0.191 MeV ) + 1H (0.574 MeV ) 5330

n+ 10B → α(1.78 MeV ) + 7Li(1.02 MeV ) 6,3% 3840
n+ 10B → α(1.47 MeV ) + 7Li(0.84 MeV )+ γ(0.48 MeV ) 93,7%
n+ 6Li → 3H(2.73 MeV )+ α(2.05 MeV ) 940
n+ 113Cd → 114Cd+γ(0.56 MeV )+e− 20,743
n+ 155Gd → 156Gd+γ(8.536 MeV total )+e− 60,791
n+ 157Gd → 158Gd+γ(7.937 MeV total )+e− 255,011
Silicon

Fig. 1 Schematic outline of the

currently available neutron
detectors

conversion material. However most of these detectors are et al. (2002) [14] have developed the first perforated
highly sensitive to the γ-rays which often contaminate the neutron detector using 6LiF as the converter material.
incident neutron fluence. Therefore it is required to differen- Thermal neutron efficiency reported by them was 12 %
tiate these γ pulses from the relevant neutron spectrum and for devices with sinusoidal trenches and 37 % for
can be done by evaluating the shape of the pulses, which are stacked detectors. Since 2005, R.J. Nikolic et al.
different for both γ and neutrons [13]. Thus the design of an [15, 16] have been working on developing a 10B filled
efficient nano structured 3D Silicon detectors filled with an array of pillar 3D silicon p-i-n diode .They were able to
appropriate neutron absorbers will resolve the existing issues achieve a discrimination rate of 105 neutron-to-gamma
of a semiconductor detector. (n/γ) at 2V. For pillar structures having 2 µm diameters
and 4 µm pitch, the thermal neutron detection efficiency
was 7.3 % and 20 % respectively for 12 µm and 26 µm
tall pillars. Later on Q. Shao and R.J. Nikolic et al.
3 Current Scenario of 3D Neutron Detectors (2013) [17] were capable of achieving a very high ther-
mal neutron detection efficiency of 48.5 % for a 50 µm
Several research groups have attempted to develop 3D semi-
tall Si pillars with an aspect ratio of 25:1.
conductor nanostructured active neutron detectors. McGregor

Fig. 2 Schematic of the Solid

State Neutron Detectors. a 10B
Coated Planar Si
Detector. b Pillar Structured 10B
Filled Si Detector
 Silicon

Josef Uher et al. (2007) [6] have fabricated porous 3D induced radioactivity and on the metal cohesion with sub-
silicon detectors with square and cylindrical geometry having strate. Therefore in the case of Teflon based activation detec-
230 µm depth and a wall thickness of 10 µm. They have tors, the type of the metal films used and the methods used to
simulated and predicted the thermal neutron detection effi- coat those metals on the substrate are the key parameters
ciency of 32 % and 28 % with 6LiF (enriched at 89 %) where- which influence the detection of neutrons. Several other metal
as with 10B (enriched at 80 %), 22 % and 20 % for square and films were also studied on this kind of Teflon based detectors
cylindrical pores respectively. W.J. McNeil et al. (2010) [18] and proved that these configurations could be successfully
have achieved detection efficiencies up to 9.7 %, 12.6 %, and used for the generation of neutron energy spectra from a
16.2 % for hole, straight, and sinusoid designs respectively. MNSR type reactors by means of MCNP-4 C as well as
The perforated trenches were 200 µm deep and were filled STAY’SL code [22].
with 26 µm thick layer of 6LiF .With this configuration, they
were able to achieve a maximum n/γ discrimination rate of
106 in a mono energetic neutron beam which is been utilized 4 Future Directions
in a nuclear reactor. S.L. Bellinger et al. (2011) [8] developed
silicon detectors with straight trenches and have reported a When higher energy neutrons, protons, electrons, and even
thermal neutron detection efficiency of 42 % which is the gamma radiation interact with semiconductor materials, lattice
highest with 1 cm2 trenches and 106 n/γ discrimination ratios. defects are formed due to the transmission of energy to the
Most of the semiconductor detectors fabricated during atomic structure, which results in degradations of the sensor
those days were more sensitive only to the thermal neutrons. performance [23–25]. Not only had the crystal structure, sen-
For the first time G. Mauri et al. (2019) [19] developed a sor surfaces also suffer from the radiation induced damages.
Multi-Blade detector with 10B converter which are sensitive Further, in silicon, neutron capture events results in the pro-
to fast neutrons. Multi-Blade is basically a batch of Multi Wire duction of secondary electrons and 31P followed by β − decay
Proportional Chambers (MWPC) with 10B4C as the converter of 31Si results in n–type doping in Si [1, 26]. The presence of
layer for neutron reflectometry. By this arrangement the ther- this dopant in the irradiated Si structures can be beneficial and
mal neutrons detection efficiency was 56 % whereas, for fast unfavourable, and can further modify the response of the de-
neutrons it was 4 orders of lower magnitude. As an alternative tector. Hence it is necessary to understand how the neutron
Daniel G. Chica et al. (2020) [10] demonstrated the potential collision events results in defects, for the final interpretation of
use of LiInP2Se6 as the converter material for neutron detec- the response of a Si based detector. Over the past few years,
tion in a 2D layered semiconductor detector. Using this con- many researchers were being trying to understand the effects
figuration, the pulse-height spectrum of a 241Am source was of theses neutron induced defects in silicon and silicon based
produced and was able to get a 13.9 % energy resolution, for the sake of improvising the response of existing 3D Si
which is highest reported energy resolution for 241Am. Thus based detectors over a wide range of neutron energies
thermal and fast neutrons produce different decay times for [27, 28]. The properties of Silicon Carbide polytypes (3 C-
neutrons and gammas in most of the semiconductor based SiC) were also studied extensively, by exposing to ionizing
detectors. To discriminate neutrons from gammas for a well radiation as it is an excellent semiconductor [29–36]. Elchin
resolved spectrum, Pulse Shape Discrimination (PSD) tech- M. Huseynov studied the effect of neutron irradiation on the
niques can be considered as an ideal tool. However special electrically conductivity of nano crystalline 3 C- SiC when
design considerations are important in the design of a detector exposed to a TRIGA Mark II type research reactor by varying
for this application. M.Hook et al. [20] were able to analyse the irradiating times. He has also analysed the dependency of
neutron and gamma pulse shape separately using a NE213 irradiating temperature on the conductivity of the samples.
detector. They have utilized PSD technique to distinguish The results revealed that, electrical conductivity increases up-
neutrons from gamma pulses of a 252Cf neutron source and on neutron irradiation duration and also with increase in the
have verified by means of time of flight experiments. Study temperature. Increased concentration of newly formed neu-
confirms that PSD is suitable for neutron detection. tron transmutation isotopes (31P ) or charge carriers in the
On the other hand, it has also been reported that, as an irradiated nano-SiC samples have been found responsible for
alternative to traditional metal foils, selected set of metal films the increased conductivity [29].
coated Teflon substrate activation detectors have also been It has also been reported that neutron irradiation would also
analysed as passive neutron detectors [21]. Titanium, vanadi- increase the permittivity of 3 C- SiC due to the increase in the
um, aluminium and silver were used as the metal films and concentration of the 31P dopants [30]. Further the polarization
were able to achieve a 95 % confidence level for the detection characteristics of crystalline 3 C-SiC structure changes as a
of neutron flux from a miniature neutron source reactor result of neutron irradiation because of the agglomeration of
(MNSR). As the irradiation has no negative influence on the the SiC nanoparticles as well as the amorphous transforma-
Teflon substrate, there is no direct impact while measuring the tions formed due to the displacement and oxidation of the
Silicon

lattice atoms [31].The EPR spectroscopy of the neutron irra- to withstand all the damages and defects. It has been reported
diated 3 C-SiC exhibited notable enhancements in the total that perforated Si neutron detectors filled with neutron con-
concentration of the free radicals and the paramagnetic centres verter layers such as 10B and 6LFi could offer better efficiency,
which were mainly due to the formation of new isotopes ( high intrinsic efficiency, energy information and background
29
Si, 13 C and 31P) in the nanocrystalline SiC structure [32]. discrimination [3, 6, 8, 27]. Thus nano porous Si based neu-
It was further observed that, after neutron irradiation there is tron detectors would substantially improve its performance as
an increase in the dielectric loss of 3 C-SiC due to presence of they can resolve the geometric constraints of nano pillars by
dangling bonds as well as the newly formed defects and neu- improving the surface of contact between the neutron absorber
tron transmutation isotopes. However, upon increasing the layer and the sensitive volume within the porous substrate.
irradiating temperature above 350K, the dielectric loss noticed Meanwhile the thickness of the 10B also contributes signif-
to be decreasing because of the metal –semiconductor transi- icantly in the detection of neutrons. Appropriate thickness of
10
tion [33]. Complex impedance spectroscopy of the irradiated B is required to convert the incident neutrons and possibly, it
3 C-SiC confirmed this transition from metallic to semicon- should meet exactly with the reaction by-products range,
ductor characteristics [34]. It is known that the defects induced which would be on the scale of µm in Si. It was also identified
due to radiation can widely influence the electrical properties that the ranges of 10B (n, α) 7Li reaction products in 10B is less
of silicon and can be analysed by the electrical behaviour of than 5 µm i.e., 3.6 µm for 1.47 MeV α and 1.6 µm for 7Li ions
the irradiated sample. The study on 3 C-SiC revealed that, with 0.84 MeV [16]. However to make sure a sufficient n/γ
slope of the I–V characteristics with respect to the voltage axis discrimination, an optimization is required in the thickness of
increases after neutron irradiation indicating an increase in the the neutron converter layer. Hence the thickness of 10B needs
conductivity of the samples [35]. The reason for the increase to be relatively thin (< 8 µm) enough to absorb the 10B (n, α)
7
in conductivity is also due to the presence of the newly formed Li reaction products and simultaneously avoid the gamma
transmutation isotopes as well as the charge carriers or defects spectrum. As a result, with a thorough knowledge on radiation
in the 3 C-SiC structure. It was also been reported that neutron induced damages in Si detectors along with simulation studies
irradiation also modifies the heat flux characteristics of a 3 C- will definitely have a huge influence on detector design that
SiC structure even though there is no changes to the TGA and can expect the behavior of particular detector when exposed to
DSC spectra by irradiation [36]. radiation [1]. Thus the results necessitate reconciliation be-
Numerous experimental and simulation studies have also tween radiation damages and detection efficiency within
confirmed that the radiation-induced displacement effects nano- structured Si radiation detectors.
have large influence on the bulk characteristics of silicon
and also confirms that neutron irradiation opens the possibility
of improving the opto electric properties of porous Si (PSi)
[28, 37]. A porous silicon structure possesses a larger radiation 5 Closing Remarks and Outlook
interaction probability due to the high surface area and there-
fore offers the possibility of improving its performance As described, currently available neutron detectors pro-
[28, 38]. The simulated results of the neutron as well as the vide poor energy information due to the limitations of
charged particle induced events in a 10B (n, α) 7Li reaction the available neutron-induced reactions. Recent develop-
demonstrated that significant damages are produced in a thin ments in Si based neutron detectors along with PSD
pillar structured 10B filled Si detector due to their higher mo- techniques are attaining attention due to its possibility
mentum [1]. This will further disturb the electronic and struc- to provide high detection efficiency, better n/γ discrim-
tural characteristics of the detectors because of the displace- ination ratios and good energy information. In this pa-
ments and modifications in the doping level. The value of per, we have included a thorough review on simulation
force constant of Si the thin pillars drop when there happens and experimental studies that were already reported in
a missing of Si atom inside the crystal lattice. This results in several literatures to analyse the radiation induced im-
intense damage to the pillar, as a consequence of projectiles / perfections which can modify the response of a Si based
recoiled Si atom or through mechanical vibrations. Further it detector. With extensive information on radiation dam-
influences the orientation as well as the aspect ratio of the Si ages in Si detectors along with simulation studies will
nano pillars, which could alter the detection efficiency. As we definitely have a huge influence on detector design that
increase the thickness of the pillar to reduce the radiation can expect the behavior of particular detector when ex-
induced damage, thickness of the pillar at the base layer will posed to radiation. Therefore the study demands the
be more and have stronger bonding [39]. development of a novel nano porous 3D Silicon detec-
Hence, instead of equally spaced thin pillars, PSi nano tors filled with an appropriate neutron absorbers which
structures can be considered as an alternative, as its base layer can also be used in event tracking mode for neutron
are thicker and are strongly bonded to its adjacent three walls spectroscopy.
 Silicon

Author Contributions All the authors have equally contributed to the neutron detector: efficiency and gamma discrimination. IEEE
design and implementation of the research, to the analysis of the results Trans Nucl Sci 56(5):2802–2807
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findings are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable VanDerElzen B (2002) New surface morphology for low stress
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Conflict of Interest The authors declare that they have no known com- 12.633256
peting financial interests or personal relationships that could have ap- 16. Nikolic RJ (2008) 6: 1 aspect ratio silicon pillar based thermal
peared to influence the work reported in this paper. neutron detector filled with 10 B. Appl Phys Lett 93(133502):1–5
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Consent to Participate Not applicable. (2013) High aspect ratio composite structures with 48.5 % thermal
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Consent for Publication Not applicable. doi.org/10.1063/1.4792703
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