Comparison of Back-thinned Detector Ultraviolet Quantum Efficiency for Two Commercially Available Passivation Treatments

Back-thinned silicon detectors offer a high response over a very broad spectrum for direct detection by providing an efficient optical path into the sensing silicon avoiding front face structures manufactured from metal, polysilicon, nitrides, and oxides that may absorb the incident light before reaching the sensing silicon. We have tested two CCDs with different back-surface shallow p+ implant thicknesses (basic and enhanced) at the M4 line (wavelength between 40 and 400 nm) at Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB)’s Metrology Light Source in Berlin. This characterization in the ultraviolet spectral range extends the soft X-ray quantum efficiency (QE) data set previously acquired with the exact same devices. Due to the short absorption depth and the scope for many types of interactions of the device materials with ultraviolet photons, QE measurement and stability of the device against extended exposure in the UV are of ongoing interest. Therefore, QE measurements have been carried out before and after exposures to quantify any change in behavior. To allow characterization of the passivation processes only, the devices have no antireflection coating. The measured QE of the standard back-thinned CCD is below 10% between 70 and 370 nm. An average additional 5% efficiency is achieved in the enhanced device within the same range. At the limits of the measured spectrum, toward soft X-rays or toward the visible range, the QE increases and the difference between the standard and the enhanced process is reduced as the photon absorption length increases beyond the immediate back-surface. The measured QE after long high-flux exposures at 200 nm shows remarkable improvement.