RESUMO
Silicon carbide (SiC) is a compound semiconductor, which is considered as a possible alternative to silicon for particles and photons detection. Its characteristics make it very promising for the next generation of nuclear and particle physics experiments at high beam luminosity. Silicon Carbide detectors for Intense Luminosity Investigations and Applications (SiCILIA) is a project starting as a collaboration between the Italian National Institute of Nuclear Physics (INFN) and IMM-CNR, aiming at the realization of innovative detection systems based on SiC. In this paper, we discuss the main features of silicon carbide as a material and its potential application in the field of particles and photons detectors, the project structure and the strategies used for the prototype realization, and the first results concerning prototype production and their performance.
RESUMO
The NUMEN (NUclear Matrix Elements for Neutrinoless double beta decay) project was recently proposed with the aim to investigate the nuclear response to Double Charge Exchange reactions for all the isotopes explored by present and future studies of 0νßß decay. The expected level of radiation in the NUMEN experiment imposes severe limitations on the average lifetime of the electronic devices. During the experiments, it is expected that the electronic devices will be exposed to about 105 neutrons/cm2/s according to FLUKA simulations. This paper investigates the reliability of a System On Module (SOM) under neutron radiation. The tests were performed using thermal, epithermal, and fast neutrons produced by the Instituto de Pesquisas Energéticas e Nucleares 4.5 MW Nuclear Research Reactor. The results show that the National Instruments SOM is robust to neutron radiation for the proposed applications in the NUMEN project.