Diamond radiation detector

Abstract: A radiation detector element which is optimised for the detection of α particles comprises a layer (10) of diamond or diamond-like carbon with first and second electrical contacts (14, 16; 18) applied to the surface of the layer. The layer is formed on a silicon substrate (12), together with an electronic circuit (T₁, T₂, T₃). Each of the contacts (14, 16; 18) defines a rectifying junction with the layer (10), thus defining a back-to-back diodic structure, having junction characteristics which are responsive to the intensity of radiation incident on the detector element. The electronic circuit is powered by a battery (24) or a solar cell (28), and activates an LCD indicator (26) if the intensity of the incident radiation exceeds a predetermined level. The radiation detector element and the electronic circuit are housed on a card (22) which is sized similarly to a conventional identification card.

Description: This invention relates to a radiation detector element and to a radiation detector including the detector element, which is particularly sensitive to a radiation. EP-A2-0 381 517, on which the precharacterising portion of claim 1 is based, discloses a radiation detector with a multilayer structure in which one layer is semiconductive diamond. Certain layers form a capacitor whose stored charge is dependent upon the level of radiation incident upon the detector, other layers including an LCD layer provide an indicator. According to the invention, there is provided a radiation detector comprising a radiation detector element and an electronic bias and measurement circuit, the radiation detector element comprising a layer of diamond or diamond-like carbon with first and second electrical contacts applied thereto, at least one of the contacts defining a rectifying junction with the diamond or diamond-like carbon layer, the electronic circuit being connected electrically to the radiation detector element and arranged to apply a bias voltage to the electrical contacts thereof, and to measure the response of the radiation detector element to incident radiation, characterised in that the junction characteristics of the radiation detector element are responsive to the intensity of radiation incident on the detector element, and in that the electronic circuit is adapted to reverse bias the junction and to monitor variations in the reverse breakdown voltage of the junction due to radiation incident on the detector element. Preferably, both contacts define rectifying junctions with the diamond-like carbon layer, so that the detector defines a back-to-back diodic structure. The resulting detector is particularly sensitive to α particles and preferably the thickness of the diamond or diamond-like carbon layer is optimised for that, but it can also be used to detect β and γ particles and X-rays. The diamond or diamond-like carbon layer is preferably formed by a chemical vapour deposition (CVD) process. The diamond or diamond-like carbon layer is preferably deposited on a supporting substrate, such as a layer of silicon. The radiation detector may include a power supply element for powering the electronic circuit, and an indicator element responsive to an output signal of the circuit to provide an indication to a user of the detector when the intensity of radiation incident on the detector element reaches a predetermined level. The invention will be further described by way of non-limitative example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:- Figure 1 is a schematic top view of a radiation detector element according to the invention; Figure 2 is a section on the line 2-2 in Figure 1; Figure 3 is a schematic circuit diagram of electronic circuitry for use with the detector element of Figures 1 and 2; Figure 4 is a graph illustrating electrical characteristics of the detector element in use; and Figure 5 is a pictorial view of a practical embodiment of a radiation detector according to the invention. The radiation detector element illustrated in Figures 1 to 2 comprises a layer 10 of diamond-like carbon film of very high resistivity, deposited on a silicon substrate 12. The diamond-like layer 10 typically has a thickness of 3 000 angstroms = 300 nm and covers an area 10 mm by 10 mm. The film 10 was produced by radio frequency chemical vapour deposition (RF CVD) using a mixture of equal quantities of methane and hydrogen gas. The resistivity of the film 10 was measured at approximately 10 10 Ωcm. Deposited on the surface of the diamond-like carbon layer 10 are a pair of aluminium electrodes 14 and 16. Each electrode 14, 16 defines twenty four elongate fingers 18 which are interdigitated as illustrated in Figure 1. The width of each finger 18 is approximately 250 µm, while the spacing between adjacent fingers 18 is also approximately 250 µm. Thus, approximately half of the surface of the diamond-like carbon layer 10 is exposed. The aluminium contacts 14 and 16 form diodic rectifying junctions with the diamond-like carbon layer 10. Thus, the detector element effectively defines a back-to-back diode between the contacts 14 and 16. Figure 3 illustrates the detector element, indicated by the reference numeral 20, connected to an electronic circuit which is adapted to apply a DC bias voltage to the detector element and to measure variations in the characteristics of the diodic structure due to nuclear radiation incident on the detector element. Due to the back-to-back diodic structure both junctions will experience a similar voltage breakdown. The electronic circuit comprises a first MOS transistor T1 which acts as an amplifier responsive to the change ΔV in the breakdown voltage of the back-to-back diodes when the sensor is subject to radiation. A pair of MOS transistors T2 and T3 are connected as an inverter which inverts the output of the amplifier T1, so that an increase in radiation intensity results in an increase in the output voltage V OUT of the circuit. The described detector arrangement was tested using an Am 241 source, which provides α particles having an energy of approximately 5 MeV. The activity of the source was approximately 7,4 x 10 6 disintegrations per second. The prototype device was tested to have a breakdown voltage of 10 volts with no radiation incident on the detector element. With an incident radiation level of 4 µCi/cm 2 , the breakdown voltage was 7 volts, while with an incident radiation level of 400 µCi/cm 2 , the breakdown voltage was measured at 1 volt. The effect was reversible, with the breakdown voltage increasing to its original value on removal of the radioactive source. The mechanism by which the breakdown voltage of the diodes is reduced is believed to be due to the creation of electron/hole pairs in the diamond-like carbon layer due to the incident α radiation. The described detector element can be expected to respond to β radiation and X-rays, as well as α radiation. In the case of β particles, the device will be less efficient than is the case with α particles, due to the thinness of the diamond-like carbon film presenting a relatively small collision cross section to the β particles. For the same reason, the device would not be expected to detect γ particles efficiently. The chemical vapour deposition technology used to create the diamond-like carbon film can be used to produce relatively large detector elements, for example, having a size approximately equivalent to an A4 page, which would be useful in X-ray imaging applications. In such an application, the detector element can be formed as a multi-pixel type screen, with individual contacts to each pixel which would be connected to a multiplexing system and scanned to obtain imaging information, which could then be displayed on a video screen. A number of variations of the device are possible, For example, instead of silicon, the support layer 12 can comprise metal, glass or silicon nitride. The layer 10 can comprise a film of insulating diamond material. The metal of the contacts 14 and 16 need not be aluminium, but can be another metal which makes a rectifying contact with the diamond-like carbon film, such as titanium, palladium, platinum or gold. Instead of applying metallic contacts directly to the surface of the diamond or diamond-like carbon layer 10, rectifying contact zones can, for example, be created by depositing suitably doped semiconductor material onto designated contact areas of the layer 10, with further metallic contacts applied thereto. Although a back-to-back diodic structure is described, a single-diode structure could also be used. However, a dual diode structure provides a larger depletion area in the detector element, which improves the sensitivity of the device. Ideally, the radiation detector element and the associated electronic circuitry illustrated in Figure 3 are fabricated on a single silicon wafer, providing a compact structure with a low sensitivity to noise. Such a device can then be incorporated, for example, in a personal tag or card to be worn by personnel who are exposed to a radiation, as illustrated in Figure 5. Such a personal radiation detector is formed on a plastics card-like substrate 22, and includes a power supply in the form of a miniature battery such as a mercury button cell 24, and an indicator such as a liquid crystal display (LCD) element 26 to warn a user of the detector when a predetermined level of incident radiation is exceeded. Instead of a battery, or in addition to the battery, a solar cell 28 can be used to power the circuitry. Finally, the detector includes a photograph 30 of the person to whom it is issued. The detector can include circuitry to record the peak or average levels of radiation which it has detected. A typical application of the described α detector is in the detection of radon gas.

Claims: A radiation detector comprising a radiation detector element and an electronic bias and measurement circuit, the radiation detector element comprising a layer (10) of diamond or diamond-like carbon with first and second electrical contacts (14,16;18) applied thereto, at least one of the contacts defining a rectifying junction with the diamond or diamond-like carbon layer, the electronic circuit (T 1 ,T 2 ,T 3 ) being connected electrically to the radiation detector element and arranged to apply a bias voltage to the electrical contacts (14,16;18) thereof, and to measure the response of the radiation detector element to incident radiation, characterised in that the junction characteristics of the radiation detector element are responsive to the intensity of radiation incident on the detector element, and in that the electronic circuit (T 1 ,T 2 ,T 3 ) is adapted to reverse bias the junction and to monitor variations in the reverse breakdown voltage of the junction due to radiation incident on the detector element. A radiation detector according to claim 1, characterised in that both contacts (14,16;18) define rectifying junctions with the diamond or diamond-like carbon layer (10), so that the detector defines a back-to-back diodic structure (20). A radiation detector according to claim 1 or 2, characterised in that the thickness of the diamond or diamond-like carbon layer (10) is optimised for the detection of α particles. A radiation detector according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterised in that the diamond or diamond-like carbon layer (10) is formed by a chemical vapour deposition process. A radiation detector according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterised in that the diamond or diamond-like carbon layer (10) is deposited on a supporting substrate (12). A radiation detector according to claim 5, characterised in that the supporting substrate (12) comprises silicon. A radiation detector according to claim 6, characterised in that the supporting substrate (12) is a silicon chip or wafer on which the electronic circuit (T 1 ,T 2 ,T 3 ) is formed. A radiation detector according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterised in that the electronic circuit (T 1 ,T 2 ,T 3 ) is adapted to provide an analogue output voltage which varies in accordance with the intensity of radiation incident on the detector element. A radiation detector according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterised in that it includes a power supply element (24;28) for powering the electronic circuit (T 1 ,T 2 ,T 3 ), and an indicator element (26) responsive to an output signal of the circuit to provide an indication to a user of the detector when the intensity of radiation incident on the detector element reaches a predetermined level. A radiation detector according to claim 9, characterised in that the power supply element is a battery (24). A radiation detector according to claim 9, characterised in that the power supply element is a solar cell (28). A radiation detector according to any one of claims 9 to 11, characterised in that it is formed on a card-like substrate (22).

Inventors: JONES BARBARA LYNN, JONES, BARBARA LYNN
Applicants: DE BEERS IND DIAMOND, DE BEERS INDUSTRIAL DIAMOND DIVISION (PROPRIETARY) LIMITED
Application year: 1991
Main classification: G01T1
IPC codes: G01T1, H01L31