An Estimation of the Neutron Displacement Damage Cross Section for Ga₂O₃

Abstract

Gallium oxide (Ga <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sub> O <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">3</sub> ) has recently gained attention as an alternative power electronics semiconductor for aerospace applications. Irradiation damage studies are needed to characterize the radiation tolerance of this material. This paper presents coupled neutronics and primary knock-on atom transport simulations that have been performed to estimate the neutron displacement damage cross section for Ga <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sub> O <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">3</sub> as a function of neutron energy. This functional dependence will allow for improved comparisons between irradiation experiments of Ga <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sub> O <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">3</sub> using a variety of neutron fields. The methodology presented uses MCNP and transport of ions in matter to determine the displacement damage cross section, which has been calculated in a multigroup neutron energy structure. The calculational method was also validated against the ASTM standard damage cross section for silicon.