**5. Conclusions**

Even considering an initial higher cost for the SiC material in comparison to Si or Ge, SiC-based semiconductor radiation detectors are advantageous for use in operating conditions under which conventional semiconductor detectors in Si or Ge cannot adequately perform. One overall advantage is the elimination of cryogenic or Peltier cooling systems that allows the fabrication of far more compact, more stable, lighter, and lower power radiation detector systems. This also implies, as a direct consequence, economic advantages that go beyond the mere costs for the material itself.

Our findings confirm the high quality and the good uniformity of the epitaxial layer used for manufacturing our SiC-based prototypes, as well as the suitability of such devices to be used as high resolution X-ray detectors over a wide range of operating temperatures.

**Author Contributions:** Investigation, D.P. and G.B.; Supervision, G.B.; Writing – original draft, D.P. and G.B.; Writing – review & editing, D.P.

**Funding:** This research was funded by the Italian National Institute of Nuclear Physics (INFN) and by the Italian Space Agency (ASI). The APC was funded by Linköping University.

**Acknowledgments:** All experiments were performed at the Semiconductor and Integrated Circuit Laboratory of the Department of Electronics, Information and Bioengineering, Politecnico di Milano, Como Campus, Italy. The authors would like to thank C. Lanzieri for device manufacturing process at Selex Integrated Systems (Rome), P. Ferrari for his contribution to the electrical characterization, S. Masci for the device bonding, S. Caccia and D. Macera for their collaboration for the readout electronics. The authors would like to dedicate this work to the everlasting memory of Andrea Puglisi.

**Conflicts of Interest:** The authors declare no conflicts of interest. The founding sponsors had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, and in the decision to publish the results.
