SiC detectors for neutron monitoring

Semiconductor detectors equipped with a converter like 6LiF or 10B can currently be considered a very interesting alternative to conventional neutron detectors, especially because of their compactness and reliability. The materials for the detection of the ions produced in the converter are generally either Si or GaAs. SiC detectors presented in this work are completely new devices which are proved to be very suitable for neutron detection, dosimetry and beam monitoring. Their capability to withstand high radiation doses should largely overcome the performances of Si and GaAs; moreover, because of the lower Z value, gamma-ray discrimination turns out to be more efficient. In this work, the results obtained with a series of large-area epitaxial SiC Schottky barrier detectors will be presented and discussed.