SiC-based detectors for fast neutron measurements in a multi-energy field

Wide-bandgap semiconductor detectors like silicon carbide (SiC) are promising for fusion and fission environments due to their radiation hardness and thermal/mechanical stability. The 4H-SiC diodes studied, with a 60 µm ”p-n” junction, collect charge carriers generated by neutron reaction products and gammas. The resulting signal provides information on fast neutron energy. Previous studies in mono-energetic fields showed promising results for estimating fast neutron flux, but characterizing the sensor’s response in multi-energetic fields remains challenging. In this work, the calibration of 4H-SiC response functions was performed using Time-of-Flight (ToF) measurements at the Neutron For Science (NFS) facility of GANIL, which allowed the construction of a response matrix. The presented results are promising, providing a response matrix with enough energy channels that can be used for neutron spectrum unfolding purposes.