INVESTIGATION OF THE N(-P-PI-P(+) STRUCTURE OF SILICON AVALANCHE-DIODES BY CHARGED-PARTICLES())

The purpose of our work is to investigate the properties of n(+)-p-pi- p(+) silicon avalanche diodes for the detection of heavy charged parti cles. Two sets of measurements of the alpha spectrum of Am-241 were ca rried out, one without a collimator and one with a collimator. The obt ained alpha spectra for all bias voltages differ substantially from th e spectrum obtained with a conventional semiconductor detector. The ex periments clarified the amplification mechanism of the type n(+)-p-pi- p(+) silicon avalanche detector for charged particles. We demonstrated that the reasons for the unconventional alpha spectra are the mechani sms of internal amplification and also the specific detector design.