Self-powered silicon PIN neutron detector based on triboelectric nanogenerator

Silicon PIN neutron detectors play an important role in nuclear science with advantages such as small size, light weight, low cost, and mature manufacturing process. This paper proposes a self-powered neutron detection system based on a triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) and silicon PIN diode for the first time. The proposed environmentally efficient and low-cost TENG is connected to the detector through a rectifier bridge circuit. When the TENG powered silicon neutron detector is irradiated, the PIN diode generates defects in the silicon body, which leads to a decrease in the lifetime of excess carriers. The neutron dose can be measured by monitoring the change of the terminal voltage of the PIN diode.