Radiation Tolerant Diamond Gain Structures for Photon Detection
Current state-of-the-art Silicon Photomultiplier (SiPM) technology suffers several drawbacks, including weak radiation resistance, high dark current rate, weak photon detection efficiency in X-ray and UV wavelengths, high gain sensitivity to the temperature variation, and the necessity to operate at -40 °C in a harsh radioactive environment with the increased operating cost. The photodetectors for collider and intensity frontier experiments require a novel low-cost wide-bandgap technology with internal gain that has a fast response, good radiation hardness, low dark current, and reduced gain sensitivity to temperature. Since SiPMs' radiation tolerance is limited, they are primarily excluded from scientific, military, and industrial deployment, where withstanding a harsh radiation condition is a crucial requirement. By leveraging the inherent advantages of diamond wide-bandgap material with advanced three-dimensional (3D) device design and novel fs-laser writing technology for fabrication of 3D nano-carbon conducting wires of micron thickness inside the diamond that was developed at Euclid Beamlabs, we propose to deliver diamond photodetector device with a controllable internal gain for UV and X-ray photon detection. The internal gain in diamond utilizes a focusing effect consisting of a substantial increase of electric field near a small size electrode (graphitic readout column) opposite to a second metallic electrode (back pad) that is substantially larger in area. Adding a biased ring buried inside the diamond around the readout column allows controlling gain conditions under the readout electrode. A novel controllable gain photomultiplier technology will have a very low leakage current (~ pA), inherent diamond high radiation tolerance and longevity, the absence of thermal runaway issues, and the ability to operate at room temperature without cooling due to extremely high intrinsic diamond thermal conductivity. These features make the novel technology versatile, compact, and cost-effective.
- Research Organization:
- Euclid Beamlabs, LLC
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC), High Energy Physics (HEP)
- Contributing Organization:
- Euclid Beamlabs
- DOE Contract Number:
- DE-SC0021734
- OSTI ID:
- 1902652
- Type / Phase:
- SBIR (Phase I)
- Report Number(s):
- DOE-Euclid Beamlabs-PH1-21734; 21734
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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