Transient Charge Collection in Ultra-Thin SiC Membranes for Single-Ion Detection

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Semiconductor Physics
• Detector Technology

Background:

• Silicon carbide (SiC) detectors are radiation-hard and fast, suitable for harsh environments.
• Understanding charge collection dynamics is crucial for optimizing SiC detector performance.

Purpose of the Study:

• Investigate charge-collection dynamics in ultra-thin membrane SiC detectors.
• Compare transient responses of membrane and bulk SiC detector geometries.
• Analyze the impact of substrate removal on detector performance.

Main Methods:

• Time-dependent TCAD simulations of electron-hole pair generation by ions.
• 2D simulations for time-resolved characterization of current density.
• Comparison of bulk and membrane SiC detector architectures.

Main Results:

• Both bulk and membrane SiC detectors show prompt drift-driven current components.
• SiC membrane detectors exhibit a rapid secondary component (<3.5 × 10^-10 s) at zero bias.
• Bulk SiC detectors display a prolonged secondary component and a substrate-induced diffusion tail.

Conclusions:

• SiC membrane detectors are ideal for single-ion detection due to their fast response.
• Removing the substrate significantly reduces diffusion-dominated current.
• These findings aid in fabricating optimized SiC detectors for quantum technologies.