Patent ID: 7635849
Filing Date: 2009-12-22
Classification: H01J

Abstract:
1. A detector for detecting electrically neutral particles, comprising: a detector housing which at least in certain regions is filled with a counting gas, a multiplicity of converter devices arranged in cascade form in the detector housing for generating conversion products as a result of the absorption of the neutral particles which are to be detected, the conversion products generating electrically charged particles in the counting gas, each of said converter devices comprising an insulator layer having opposite first and second surfaces, a first conductive layer and a second conductive layer disposed respectively on the first and second surfaces of the insulator layer such that the first and second conductive layers are electrically insulated from one another by the insulator layer, and at least one converter layer arranged on at least one of the first conductive layer and the second conductive layer to define an outermost part of each said converter device, the converter layer being formed of a material different than the conductive layer on which the converter layer is arranged, at least one readout device for detecting the electrically charged particles, at least one electrical drift field device for generating an electrical drift field for the electrically charged particles in at least a region of the volume of the counting gas in such a manner that at least some of the electrically charged particles drift toward the readout device, the converter device being of charge-transparent design and being arranged in the detector housing in such a manner that the drift field passes through at least part of each said converter device, wherein each said converter device has a multiplicity of passages, for the electrically charged particles, and the passages in at least two adjacent converter devices are not in alignment.