DETECTION OF IONIZING PARTICLES USING POLYCRYSTALLINE DIAMOND FILMS

THE USE OF DIAMOND FILMS FOR RADIATION-TOLERANT ELECTRONIC APPLICATIONS HAS GENERATED CONSIDERABLE INTEREST. ALTHOUGH OTHER SEMICONDUCTORS CAN BE MADE RADIATION-TOLERANT, DIAMONDHAS THE HIGHEST INHERENT RESISTANCE TO RADIATION-INDUCED DAMAGE. THIS PROJECT IS DEVELOPING DIAMOND IONIZING RADIATION DETECTORS FOR THE SUPERCONDUCTING SUPER COLLIDER (SSC) TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF DIAMOND'S UNIQUE COMBINATION OF HIGH CARRIER MOBILITY AND HIGH RADIATION TOLERANCE. DIAMOND DETECTORS SHOULD HAVE VERY HIGH TOTAL DOSE PERFORMANCE COMPARED TO THE OTHER POTENTIAL CANDIDATE SOLID-STATE DETECTORS. THIS RADIATION TOLERANCE ALLOWS A SIZE REDUCTION OF ALMOST 1,000 COMPARED TO A SILICON DETECTOR. BECAUSE OF THE EXPECTED SUBPICOSECOND RESPONSE SPEED AND HIGH THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY OF THE DETECTORS, THESE DEVICES SHOULD OPERATE FOR FLUENCES EXCEEDING 10(34)CM(-2)SEC(-1). DIAMOND DETECTORS TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE LARGE BANDGAP OF DIAMOND AND SHOULD HAVE AN EXTENDED TEMPERATURE RANGE OF OPERATION AND NOT REQUIRE CRYOGENIC COOLING. PHASE I OF THIS RESEARCH IS DIRECTED TOWARD THE GROWTH OF SUITABLE POLYCRYSTALLINE DIAMOND LAYERS AND SUBSEQUENT FABRICATION OF DETECTORS. THE DETECTORS WILL BE TESTED FOR THEIR SENSITIVITY AND SPEED OF RESPONSE USING A HIGH ENERGY ELECTRON TEST BEAM. DIAMOND DETECTORS ARE CRITICAL TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF FAST, RADIATION-HARD DEVICES REQUIRED FOR HIGH LUMINOSITY COLLIDING BEAM FACILITIES SUCH AS SSC.