Uniform large-area high-gain silicon avalanche radiation detectors from transmutation doped silicon

Significant improvements in gain and energy resolution are reported for very-large-area p-n-junction-type silicon avalanche radiation detectors which were made from neutron-doped silicon. Detectors with frontal areas of about 20 mm2 had gains which ranged from 400 (1.2 keV FWHM at 5.9 keV) to over 800 (2.2 keV FWHM at 5.9 keV). A 330-mm2 device showed a maximum gain of 150 with an energy resolution of 16 keV FWHM at 22 keV.