Thin silicon microdosimeter utilizing 3D MEMS fabrication technology: Charge collection study and its application in mixed radiation fields

New 10-μm-thick silicon microdosimeters utilizing 3-D technology have been developed and investigated in this paper. The TCAD simulations were carried out to understand the electrical properties of the microdosimeters’ design. A charge collection study of the devices was performed using 5.5-MeV He2+ ions which were raster scanned over the surface of the detectors and the charge collection median energy maps were obtained and the detection yield was also evaluated. The Devices were tested in a 290 MeV/u carbon ion beam at the Heavy Ion Medical Accelerator in Chiba (HIMAC) in Japan. Based on the microdosimetric measurements, the quality factor and dose equivalent out of field were obtained in a mixed radiation field mimicking the radiation environment for spacecraft in deep space.