Gadolinium oxide coated fully depleted silicon-on-insulator transistors for thermal neutron dosimetry

•A novel Gd2O3 coated FDSOI MOSFET thermal neutron dosimeter is presented.•Dosimeter can detect charges generated from 157Gd(n,γ)158Gd conversion electrons.•Measured neutron sensitivity is comparable to that calculated theoretically.•Dosimeter requires zero power during operation, enabling new application areas.

Fully depleted silicon-on-insulator transistors coated with gadolinium oxide are shown to be effective thermal neutron dosimeters. The theoretical neutron detection efficiency is calculated to be higher for Gd2O3 than for other practical converter materials. Proof-of-concept dosimeter devices were fabricated and tested during thermal neutron irradiation. The transistor current changes linearly with neutron dose, consistent with increasing positive charge in the SOI buried oxide layer generated by ionization from high energy 157Gd(n,γ)158Gd conversion electrons. The measured neutron sensitivity is approximately 1/6 the maximum theoretical value, possibly due to electron–hole recombination or conversion electron loss in interconnect wiring above the transistors.