A DIAMOND MICROSTRIP DETECTOR

SOLID-STATE IONIZATION DETECTORS INCREASINGLY FIND USE IN MEDICAL, NUCLEAR, AND HIGH ENERGY PHYSICS AND IN MAGNETIC FUSION RESEARCH. UNFORTUNATELY, SILICON-BASED DETECTORS ARE HIGHLY SUSCEPTIBLE TO RADIATION DAMAGE, CAN OPERATE ONLYIN A NARROW TEMPERATURE REGIME, AND HAVE UNDESIRABLE SIGNAL-TO-NOISE RATIOS EVEN AT ROOM TEMPERATURE. A NEW CLASS OF RADIATION-RESISTANT, HIGH TEMPERATURE DETECTORS BASED ON WIDE BANDGAP SEMICONDUCTOR MATERIALS WOULD NOT ONLYENHANCE DETECTIVITY AND RESPONSIVITY IN CURRENT SYSTEMS, BUTWOULD DRAMATICALLY EXPAND THE FIELD OF USE. A CHARGED PARTICLE TRACKING DETECTOR BASED ON AN ACTIVE POSITIVE-NEGATIVE (PN) JUNCTION DETECTOR ELEMENT FABRICATED FROM DIAMOND FILM IS BEING DEVELOPED IN THIS PROJECT. BECAUSE OF ITS HIGH INTRINSIC RESISTIVITY, LARGE CARRIER MOBILITIES, HIGH SATURATED CARRIER DRIFT VELOCITY, AND RADIATION AND CHEMICAL CORROSION RESISTANCE, DIAMOND IS AN IDEAL CANDIDATE FOR AN EXTREMELY FAST, RADIATION-HARDENED PARTICLE DETECTOR. IT HAS RECENTLY BEEN SHOWN THAT DIAMOND FILMS WITH BOTH P- AND N-TYPE CONDUCTIVITY CAN BE GROWN. PHASE I OF THIS PROJECT INCLUDES THE FABRICATION OF PN JUNCTION DETECTORS AND MEASUREMENT OF THE RESPONSIVENESS OF THE FILMS TO IONIZING RADIATION. IN PHASE II, MICROSTRIP DETECTORS WILL BE CONSTRUCTED FROM DIAMOND ELEMENTS HAVING OPTIMIZED DOPING LEVELS. DIAMOND DETECTOR ELEMENTS WILL BE COMMERCIALIZED IN PHASE III FOR USE IN APPLICATIONS AS DIVERSE AS COMPUTER-ASSISTED TOMOGRAPHY (CAT) SCANNERS, IN-VIVO RADIATION DOSIMETERS, OR SOLID STATE LABORATORY RADIATION MONITORS.