DIAMOND-BASED PHOTOMULTIPLIERS

THE UNIQUE PROPERTIES OF SSEMICONDUCTING DIAMOND MAY BE EXPLOITED TO CREATE A NOVEL, HIGH GAIN, LOW NOISE, STABLE, AND COMPACT PHOTOMULTIPLER (PMT). EXISTING PMTS ARE INADEQUATE FOR MANY APPLICATIONS WHERE SENSITIVITY AND GAIN MUST BE COMBINED WITH STABILITY AND REDUCED NOISE REQUIREMENTS. A NOVEL APPROACH TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF A COMPACT PHOTOMULTIPLIER IS PLANNED WHICH MEETS THESE REQUIREMENTS. THE USUAL PROPERTIES OF SEMICONDUCTING DIAMOND AND RECENT ADVANCES IN THE CHEMICAL VAPOR DEPOSITION OF NEGATIVE ELECTRON AFFINITY (NEA) DIAMOND WILL BE USED TO CREATE AN EXTREMELY STABLE AND STURDY ELECTRON MULTIPLIER (DYNODE). PHASE I WILL OPTIMIZE THE GROWTH OF NEA DIAMOND AND DETERMINE THE FEASIBILITY OF SUCH A DEVICE BY FULLY INVESTIGATING THE MULTIPLICATIVE AND EMISSIVE PROPERTIES OF THE MATERIAL. PHASE II WILL EXTEND THE PHASE I PROJECT TO INCLUDE FABRICATION AND TESTING OF A PROTOTYPE PMT AND GAMMA RAY DETECTOR.