Silicon carbide detector for laser-generated plasma radiation

We present the performance of a Silicon Carbide (SiC) detector in the acquisition of the radiation emitted by laser generated plasmas. The detector has been employed in time of flight (TOF) configuration within an experiment performed at the Prague Asterix Laser System (PALS). The detector is a 5 mm(2) area 100 nm thick circular Ni-SiC Schottky junction on a high purity 4H-SiC epitaxial layer 115 mu m thick. Current signals from the detector with amplitudes up to 1.6 A have been measured, achieving voltage signals over 80 V on a 50 Omega load resistance with excellent signal to noise ratios. Resolution of few nanoseconds has been experimentally demonstrated in TOF measurements. The detector has operated at 250 V DC bias under extreme operating conditions with no observable performance degradation. (C) 2012 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.