Radiation Dose Rate Hardened Light Detector

Electro-optical systems of the type in which the detector of this invention will be used are used in data transmission, communications and other systems. Extensive activity is underway for developing fiber-optic links where this type of detector will be used. Military systems, including satellites, aeronautical and missiles, are developing similar uses requiring devices which will operate in a nuclear radiation environment.

One of the purposes of this invention is to enhance the sensitivity of the detector to light without increasing the sensitivity to gamma and x-ray radiation. This will improve the signal to noise ratio in a radiation environment.

A radiation dose rate hardened light detector is provided. The thickness of a Schottky diode silicon island on a sapphire substrate is carefully adjusted to produce interference removal absorption at a desired wavelength. The diode can be tuned to be insensitive to light at other than a desired wavelength. The absorption is produced by causing the light to reflect back and forth in the silicon causing the absorbtion to occur in a small region.

The single FIGURE shows a preferred embodiment of the radiation dose rate hardened light detector.

Now referring in detail to the single figure, there is shown silicon island 1 with electrical contact 1a. Silicon island 1 can be N or P type. On one side of silicon island 1 there is positioned a sapphire substrate 2 in the region of 5 to 10 mils in thickness. On the other side of silicon island 1, there is positioned a metal electrode 3 having metal contact 3a. A suitable metal is chosen so that the metal electrode will form a Schottky diode on the silicon island. The choice is controlled by the type of silicon used in the island. N type requires a different metal than does P type. The silicon thickness is tuned to the light wavelength by an oxidizing etching process until absorption is observed. The light detector is a Schottky diode made on a silicon island. The thickness of the silicon may be in the region of 0.5-0.7u meters. The thickness is carefully adjusted to produce interference resonance absorbtion at the light wavelength of interest. The light enters the silicon through the sapphire and is reflected off the metal electrode to produce the interference at the silicon-sapphire interface. The diode produces absorption by causing the light to reflect back and forth in the silicon causing the absorption to occur in a small region. By reducing the active volume of silicon, there is a reduction of the photo-current response to ionizing radiation. It is also emphasized that by tuning the diode, it can be made insensitive to light of wavelength other than the wavelength of the signal reducing noise.

The effect of the diode is achieved by reflecting the light back and forth between the metal of the Schottky barrier and the silicon-sapphire interface. This occurs if the wavelength of the light in the silicon is 4, 4/3, 4/5, etc., the thickness of the silicon because of the different orders of the interference phenomenon. These interference phenomenon are the same as those produced by transmission coatings on camera lenses and also by very sharp interference light filters with band passes of 50 A.

One purpose is to enhance the sensitivity of the detector to light without increasing the sensitivity to gamma and x-ray radiation. This will improve the signal to noise ratio in a radiation environment. The absorption length of red light is 25-100 um in silicon. Thus, one pass through 0.7 um of silicon converts only a small percentage of the light energy to electrical signal. This signal can be increased by trapping the light, reflecting it back and forth as happens at an interface absorption resonance. The device should display Newton's fringes, with a dark spot in the middle when tuned. The gamma and x-ray photons only make one pass through the detector, thus are not enhanced.