Study of group-III nitride semiconductor for novel neutron semiconducting detector

Abstract

Recently, neutron detection has been applied in various fields, and the development of neutron detectors that are suitable for widespread neutron detection is expected. BGaN has been proposed and developed as a novel neutron semiconductor detection material. BGaN is a ternary nitride alloy that includes B atoms, and is capable of capturing neutrons and detecting signals in a sensitive layer. This report presents a method for the epitaxial growth of BGaN using a new B metal–organic source, TMB, which suppresses gas-phase reactions. By improving the growth conditions, thick growth was achieved and vertical-type thick BGaN pin-diodes were fabricated. The neutron energy spectrum was measured using the fabricated BGaN diodes. The results indicated that BGaN diodes could be used as effective neutron detectors.