Simulation of GaN micro-structured neutron detectors for improving electrical properties**Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 11675198, 11875097, 11975257, 61774072, 61574026, and 61971090), the National Key Research and Development Program of China (Grant Nos. 2016YFB0400600 and2016YFB0400601), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities, China (Grant No. DUT19LK45), the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (Grant No.

Abstract

Nowadays, the superior detection performance of semiconductor neutron detectors is a challenging task. In this paper, we deal with a novel GaN micro-structured neutron detector (GaN-MSND) and compare three different methods such as the method of modulating the trench depth, the method of introducing dielectric layer and p-type inversion region to improve the width of depletion region (W). It is observed that the intensity of electric field can be modulated by scaling the trench depth. On the other hand, the electron blocking region is formed in the detector enveloped with a dielectric layer. Furthermore, the introducing of p-type inversion region produces new p/n junction, which not only promotes the further expansion of the depletion region but also reduces the intensity of electric field produced by main junction. It can be realized that all these methods can considerably enhance the working voltage as well as W. Of them, the improvement on W of GaN-MSND with the p-type inversion region is the most significant and the value of W could reach 12.8 μm when the carrier concentration of p-type inversion region is 1017 cm−3. Consequently, the value of W is observed to improve 200% for the designed GaN-MSND as compared with that without additional design. This work ensures to the researchers and scientific community the fabrication of GaN-MSND having superior detection limit in the field of intense radiation.