Alpha radiation detection using Si PIN diodes

Positive - intrinsic - Negative (PIN) photodiodes have been widely studied in recent times for detecting and measuring different types of ionizing radiations owing to their superior characteristics when compared to conventional gas-filled or scintillator based detectors. PIN diodes are also explored for detecting neutrons with a suitable converter layer (10B or 6LiF). PIN diode energy resolution is influenced by various experimental conditions and is not completely understood. In the present work, role of diode leakage current, applied reverse bias, alpha source-detector distance, diode size and gamma radiation on the PIN diode performance in terms of energy resolution (FWHM) when exposed to alpha radiation (239Pu, 241Am,244Cm) is studied. The results presented in this work will be useful while considering the PIN diodes for various radiation sensing applications.