INVESTIGATION OF EFFICIENT TERMINATION STRUCTURE FOR IMPROVED BREAKDOWN PROPERTIES OF SEMICONDUCTOR RADIATION DETECTORS

Efficiency of a new junction termination structure for improvement of breakdown properties of semiconductor radiation detectors is investiga ted. The structure consists of a diffused resistor winding around the active junction in a spiral fashion. The current flow through the spir al enables controlled potential distribution along the spiral turns an d thus controlled depletion spreading from the main junction, efficien tly preventing premature avalanche breakdown. Both, multiple guard-rin g structures and spiral junction termination structures have shown goo d breakdown properties typically three to five times higher than break down voltages of diodes without junction termination. The breakdown vo ltages of spiral junction termination structures are only weakly influ enced by changes in substrate doping concentration caused by neutron i rradiation. They can thus be considered for termination of future semi conductor radiation detectors.