| Abstrakt: |
As a part of a Department of Energy-Nuclear Engineering Research Initiative (NERI) Project, we are investigating SiC semiconductor detectors as power monitors for Generation IV power reactors. SiC detectors are well-suited as power monitors for reactors for space nuclear propulsion, due to their characteristics of small size, mass, and power consumption; mechanical ruggedness; radiation hardness; capability for high temperature operation; and potential for pulse mode operation at high count rates, which may allow for a reduction in the complexity of the reactor instrumentation and control system, as well as allow for verification of detector sensitivity, verification of channel operability, and channel self-repair. In this paper, a mathematical model of a SiC detector is presented. The model includes a description of the formation of electron-hole pairs in a SiC diode detector, using the computer code TRIM. The TRIM results are used as input to a MATLAB simulation of detector current output pulse formation, the results of which are intended for use as the input to a model of the detector channel as a whole. © 2004 American Institute of Physics [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
