Electron-hole pair generation in SiC high-temperature alpha particle detectors

We demonstrate alpha-particle detection in an n-type 4H-SiC Schottky diode detector up to a temperature of 500 degrees C using an Am-241 disc source. The measured spectra were used to calculate the electron-hole pair creation energy in 4H-SiC and its non-bandgap contribution, which are both found to decrease with increasing temperature. The full width at half maximum (FWHM) of the measured alpha-energy peaks was found to increase exponentially with temperature due to an exponential increase of leakage current. For our measurement system, above 300 degrees C, where the leakage current was 10(-6) A, this increase exceeded the FWHM at room temperature. (C) 2013 AIP Publishing LLC.