TCAD Simulations of Humidity-Induced Breakdown of Silicon Sensors

The breakdown voltage of silicon sensors is known to be affected by the ambient humidity. To understand the sensor's humidity sensitivity, Synopsys TCAD was used to simulate n-in-p sensors for different effective relative humidities. Photon emission of hot electrons was imaged with a microscope to locate breakdown in the edge-region of the sensor. The Top-Transient Current Technique was used to measure charge transport near the surface in the breakdown region of the sensor. Using the measurements and simulations, the evolution of the electric field with relative humidity and the carrier densities towards breakdown in the periphery of p-bulk silicon sensors are investigated.