Improved charge collection of the buried p-i-n- a-Si:H radiation

Charge collection in hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) radiation detectors is improved for high LET particle detection by adding thin intrinsic layers to the usual p-i-n structure. This buried p-i-n structure enables us to apply higher bias and the electric field is enhanced. When irradiated by 5.8 MeV {alpha} particles, the 5.7 {mu}m thick buried p-i-n detector with bias 300 V gives a signal size of 60,000 electrons, compared to about 20,000 electrons with the simple p-i-n detectors. The improved charge collection in the new structure is discussed. The capability of tailoring the field profile by doping a-Si:H opens a way to some interesting device structures.