Performance and Applications of Silicon Carbide Neutron Detectors in Harsh Nuclear Environments

Abstract

Silicon carbide (SiC) semiconductor is an ideal material for solid-state nuclear radiation detectors to be used in high-temperature, high-radiation environments. Such harsh environments are typically encountered in nuclear reactor measurement locations as well as high-level radioactive waste and/or “hot” dismantlingdecommissioning operations. In the present fleet of commercial nuclear reactors, temperatures in excess of 300 °C are often encountered, and temperatures up to 800 °C are anticipated in advanced reactor designs. The wide bandgap for SiC (3.27 eV) compared to more widely used semiconductors such as silicon (1.12 eV at room temperature) has allowed low-noise measurements to be carried out at temperatures up to 700 °C. The concentration of thermally induced charge carriers in SiC at 700 °C is about four orders of magnitude less than that of silicon at room temperature. Furthermore, SiC radiation detectors have been demonstrated to be much more resistant to the effects of radiation-induced damage than more conventional semiconductors such as silicon, germanium, or cadmium zinc telluride (CZT), and have been demonstrated to be operational after extremely high gamma-ray, neutron, and charged-particle doses. The purpose of the present review is to provide an updated state of the art for SiC neutron detectors and to explore their applications in harsh high-temperature, high-radiation nuclear reactor applications. Conclusions related to the current state-of-the-art of SiC neutron detectors will be presented, and specific ideal applications will be discussed.

Tunable Thermal Conductivity of Two-Dimensional SiC Nanosheets by Grain Boundaries: Implications for the Thermo-Mechanical Sensor

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“…Astonishingly, third-generation SiC/SiC fiber composites exhibit virtually unchanged properties even under irradiation conditions of 800 °C and 10 dpa (displacements per atom) . In contrast to semiconductor silicon (which has a bandgap energy of 1.12 eV at room temperature), SiC (with a bandgap energy of 3.27 eV) is a wide-bandgap semiconductor that has demonstrated exceptional performance in the detection of γ rays, neutrons, and charged particles at extremely high levels . As a result, SiC semiconductor devices exhibit outstanding resistance to radiation and high-temperature environments, making them suitable for use in challenging settings like nuclear reactors and space stations .…”

On Ve-Degree and Ev-Degree Based Topological Invariants of Chemical Structures

“…Its versatile properties contribute to its extensive usage in electronics, transportation vehicles, and applications in quantum physics. For further insights, refer to [3][4][5]. This paper delves into the topological properties of silicon carbide S iC 4 -I[r, s].…”

“…Chemical graph theory is a field of discrete mathematics that addresses various chemical challenges. It involves the exploration of chemical structures present in molecular compounds relevant to pharmaceuticals and artificial food products [5][6][7][8][9][10]. The interdisciplinary nature of chemical graph theory lies in its connection between chemistry and mathematics.…”