Patent ID: 8729652

Claim:
A semiconductor device for radiation detection comprising: a substrate region of a substrate semiconductor material; and a detection region at a surface of the semiconductor device, wherein charge carriers of a first conductivity type are generated and detected upon incidence of electromagnetic radiation (L) on the detection region at the surface of the semiconductor device, the semiconductor device further comprising: a barrier region, wherein the barrier region (i) comprises an obstacle between the substrate region and the detection region for confining parasitic charge carriers to the substrate region, wherein the parasitic charge carriers are generated in the substrate region by penetration of ionizing radiation (X) through the detection region at the surface of the semiconductor device and into the substrate region, and (ii) reduces an influence of the ionizing radiation (X) on a performance of the detection region for detecting charge carriers of the first conductivity type in the detection region, and wherein the substrate region includes a recombination region that comprises a concentration of oxygen atoms on the order of 10 18 oxygen atoms per cm 3 for reducing a lifetime of the parasitic charge carriers that are generated in the substrate region, wherein the barrier region comprises a barrier semiconductor material, and wherein the barrier region further comprises a further barrier semiconductor material, wherein the further barrier semiconductor material of the barrier region lowers a band gap of the barrier region to facilitate recombination in the barrier region of the parasitic charge carriers generated in the substrate region.