Laser-plasma X-ray detection by using fast 4H-SiC interdigit and ion collector detectors

Non-equilibrium plasma generated by nanosecond pulsed laser are characterized by solid state 4H-SiC interdigit Schottky diodes and by a large area ion collector detector, both connected in time-of-flight configuration. Plasma generated by irradiation of different metallic targets through a pulsed laser with a 10(10) W/cm(2) intensity and a 200 mJ energy, where monitored. In this paper we demonstrate that the interdigit 4H-SiC diode is able to detect ultraviolet radiation and soft X-rays, with energy of the order of 20 eV with very short rise time, of a few nanoseconds, and high efficiency, comparable with the performance of traditional large area ion collectors. Thanks to their millimetric size, solid state 4H-SiC detectors are good candidates for the fabrication of array systems for the spatial distribution measurement of plasma radiation. Moreover, owing to the their high efficiency and the interdigit geometry of front electrode, 4H-SiC diodes here proposed are suitable also for low energy ions detection.