Rapid Low-cost Fabrication of Particle Detector Subsrates

Improvements and reduced cost for high energy particle accelerator detectors are needed to realize their potential for new discoveries in basic physics. Miniaturization of design has increased detector resolution but current fabrication technology requires expensive equipment used for large area displays (screen printing resolution insufficient). Triton will use its roll-to-roll polymer film technology with proprietary drilling and scribing techniques to pattern large area material rapidly with low waste. Hole geometry will be nearly perfect cylinders rather than bi-conical shapes produced by chemical etching. Costs should be significantly lower compared to large area photolithography. Commercial Applications and Other Benefits : There are two primary government markets for high sensitivity, high energy particle detectors with reliable performance. One is government sponsored research facilities, and the second is product acquisition for detecting special nuclear materials for safeguarding the nation. Improved substrates are expected to reduce DOE costs directly through reduced apparatus procurement costs and indirectly as improved performance gets desired results faster. The technology to be developed has significant commercial applications in the flexible circuits market and in medical imaging.