SiC-Diodes
Silicon Carbide Schottsky Diode for ion detection in vacuum
An alternative to a LPWMPC detector would be to use wires configured as Schottsky Silicon Carbide diodes operated to output a signal when an ion deposits enough energy to push electrons into the conduction band.
Make an array of wires/rods using these diodes in vacuum and read them out with the VFAT digitization cards.
From http://etd.ohiolink.edu/view.cgi/Zelaski%20Alexandra%20R.pdf?osu1316486528
The silicon carbide used in this project had a low-doped (5x1014 atoms/cm3 of nitrogen) 21 micron thick epitaxial layer grown on top of a 300 micron thick bulk substrate with a nitrogen doping concentration of 1x1018 atoms/cm3. 100 nm of nickel, 10 nm of titanium, and 10 nm of gold were deposited, in that order, on the epitaxial side and annealed to form a Schottky contact. An ohmic contact was formed by annealing from 100 nm of nickel deposited on the substrate and annealed. The devices were characterized through IV curve measurements and then exposed to Am-241 alpha particles and high temperature while in vacuum.
http://bucky-central.me.utexas.edu/RuoffsPDFs/209
http://etd.ohiolink.edu/view.cgi/Zelaski%20Alexandra%20R.pdf?osu1316486528