Medical applications of amorphous silicon detectors

During the last years, much interest has been dedicated to the use of PIN silicon amorphous diodes as particle and radiation detectors for medical applications. This work presents a review of the work done in the last years, including results obtained by the authors, regarding the characterization of amorphous PIN diodes fabricated on thick i-layers, deposited by PECVD (Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition), with a deposition rate of 2.5 μm/hr from pure SiH4 at 200 deg. C, 20 sccm, 43 Pa, RF (Radio Frequency) power of 50 mW/cm2 and from a gas mixture of 10%SiH4 in H2 with deposition rates up to 0.9 μm/hr at a deposition temperature of 300 deg. C, 67 Pa, RF power of 150 mW/cm2 and flow rates of 100 sccm