Monte Carlo Analysis of Ga2O3 Damage from Alpha Particle Radiation

Abstract

In this study, we used the Monte Carlo method to simulate the interaction of alpha particles with Ga₂O₃ and assess radiation damage. The findings show that alpha particles are primarily stopped by electrons, with ionization dominating energy dissipation, while phonon and vacancy‑related losses contribute negligibly. Over the investigated energy range, ionization loss increased with radiation energy, while both phonon and vacancy losses decreased. At a radiation energy of 2.05 MeV, ionization accounts for 99.41% of the total energy loss, while phonon excitation and vacancy formation contribute only 0.03 and 0.52%, respectively. As the radiation energy increased from 2.05 to 5.48 MeV, the peak energy absorbed by Ga and O atoms decreased from 0.81 and 0.84 eV to 0.62 eV, respectively. Alpha particles in Ga₂O₃ have a spatial distribution similar to a tadpole. The calculated maximum values were 0.0347 for displacement per atom (DPA), 1.63 × 10²¹ cm^–3 for V_Ga concentration, and 1.65 × 10²¹ cm^–3 for V_O concentration. These results demonstrate that alpha particle irradiation causes substantial damage in Ga₂O₃, posing a critical threat to both material integrity and device functionality.