Semiconductor Radiation Detectors

Research focus

Semiconductor radiation detectors translate deposited energy into electron–hole pairs and then into a measurable current or charge pulse. My work asks how the material, device geometry, electric field and interaction position jointly determine the signal.

The central objective is not only to detect radiation, but to understand the complete chain: radiation interaction → energy deposition → carrier generation → charge transport → induced current → detector response.

Alpha-particle detection

Alpha particles deposit energy over a short distance and create a dense track of electron–hole pairs. They provide a useful probe of charge-generation and charge-collection physics in wide-bandgap semiconductor devices.

• How incidence position and penetration depth affect transient current
• How electric-field and weighting-potential distributions shape the pulse
• How electrodes, guard structures and device thickness influence collection
• How leakage current, breakdown and collection efficiency constrain detector design

Thermal-neutron detection

Because neutrons carry no electric charge, they must first undergo a nuclear reaction that produces energetic charged particles. In converter-assisted concepts, those reaction products enter the semiconductor and generate charge that can be collected electrically.

The work connects converter geometry, particle escape, energy deposition and device response. Planar and microstructured concepts are studied to understand the trade-off between interaction probability and efficient charge collection.

Questions guiding the work

1. How can detector geometry increase radiation interaction without degrading signal collection?
2. Why does the same deposited energy sometimes produce different pulse shapes or amplitudes?
3. How do material properties and electrode geometry influence leakage, breakdown and timing?
4. Which device descriptions remain physically meaningful while remaining compact enough for system-level use?

Methods

• Semiconductor-device simulation and transient analysis
• Particle-transport and energy-deposition modelling
• Electric-field and weighting-potential interpretation
• Numerical analysis of current pulses and detector metrics
• Comparison of alternative materials and device architectures

What will be shared here

This page will grow into a public collection of physical explanations, selected simulation workflows, reproducible plots, teaching-oriented notes and links to published work.