Proton Energy Loss in GaN

Abstract

The proton energy loss in GaN in an energy range between 0 and 65 MeV is investigated. The energy of protons generated by a cyclotron at about 65 MeV is varied by inserting an energy‐absorbing medium of varying thickness. The precise modeling of the GaN Schottky diode response as a function of the absorbing medium thickness allows us to demonstrate that the energy absorption loss in GaN precisely follows the Bethe theory. In addition, the region of the detector contributing to its response to a proton beam, which is of prime importance for proton detector optimization, can be identified.