A SINGLE CRYSTAL DIAMOND ULTRAVIOLET DETECTOR USE WITH A LIQUID XENON SCINTILLATOR

THE USE OF DIAMOND FILMS FOR RADIATION-TOLERANT ELECTRONIC APPLICATIONS HAS GENERATED CONSIDERABLE INTEREST. WHILE OTHER SEMICONDUCTORS CAN BE MADE RADIATION TOLERANT, DIAMONDHAS THE HIGHEST INHERENT RESISTANCE TO RADIATION-INDUCED DAMAGE. A SINGLE CRYSTAL DIAMOND ULTRAVIOLET (UV) DETECTOR FOR THE SUPERCONDUCTING SUPER COLLIDER (SSC) TO BE USED IN CONJUNCTION WITH LIQUID XENON (XE) SCINTILLATORS IS BEINGDEVELOPED IN THIS PROJECT. THIS DEVICE TAKES ADVANTAGE OF DIAMOND'S UNIQUE COMBINATION OF HIGH CARRIER MOBILITY AND HIGH RADIATION TOLERANCE. DIAMOND DETECTORS CAN BE EXPECTEDTO HAVE VERY HIGH TOTAL DOSE TOLERANCE COMPARED TO THE OTHERPOTENTIAL CANDIDATE SOLID STATE DETECTORS. BECAUSE OF EXPECTED DETECTOR SUBPICOSECOND RESPONSE SPEED AND HIGH THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY, THESE DEVICES SHOULD OPERATE FOR FLUENCES EXCEEDING 10(34)CM(-2)SEC(-1). DIAMOND DETECTORS TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE LARGE BANDGAP OF DIAMOND CRYSTAL AND SHOULD HAVE AN EXTENDED TEMPERATURE RANGE OF OPERATION WITHOUT REQUIRING CRYOGENIC COOLING. THIS PHASE I RESEARCH PROJECT IS DIRECTED TOWARD THE GROWTH OF SUITABLE EPITAXIAL SINGLE CRYSTAL DIAMOND LAYERS AND THEIR SUBSEQUENT FABRICATION INTO DETECTORS. THE DETECTORS WILL BE TESTED FOR THEIR SENSITIVITY AND SPEED OF RESPONSE USING A UV LASER. DIAMOND DETECTORS ARE CRITICAL TO THE DEVELOPMENT OFFAST, RADIATION-HARD DEVICES REQUIRED FOR HIGH LUMINOSITY COLLIDING BEAM FACILITIES SUCH AS SSC.