Details of Grant 

EPSRC Reference:	EP/I027327/1
Title:	Pulsed laser deposited carbon electrodes for diamond radiation sensors
Principal Investigator:	Lohstroh, Dr A
Other Investigators:	Henley, Dr SJ
Researcher Co-Investigators:
Project Partners:
Department:	Nuclear and Radiation Physics
Organisation:	University of Surrey
Scheme:	First Grant - Revised 2009
Starts:	03 October 2011	Ends:	02 October 2012	Value (£):	97,058
EPSRC Research Topic Classifications:	Electronic Devices & Subsys. Instrumentation Eng. & Dev.
EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications:	Electronics
Related Grants:
Panel History:	Panel Date Panel Name Outcome 16 Feb 2011 Materials, Mechanical and Medical Engineering Announced
Summary on Grant Application Form
This project will explore and optimise pulsed laser deposition (PLD) low resistivity amorphous carbon coatings as electrode material for radiation sensors based on high purity, high resistivity synthetic diamond produced by chemical vapour deposition (CVD). It will be the first time that the PLD technique is used for this purpose and it offers flexible deposition parameters to optimise the amorphous carbon based electrode properties with a technology that is compatible with conventional lithography.Electronic grade synthetic single crystal diamond is of interest for a large variety of electronic devices, such as high frequency components, transistors, high power diodes and more. High quality diamond bulk properties are ideally suited for a wide range of radiation detector applications ranging from X-ray and neutron sensors to deep UV detection, particle timing and spectroscopy. However, the current limitation to diamond sensor technology is a lack of understanding and reproducibility of contact depositions to the bulk material. This project will focus on the characterisation and optimisation of diamond sensor performance in medical dosimetry and X-ray beam monitoring applications, where diamond with metal-free pure amorphous carbon electrodes uniquely fulfils the requirements placed on X-ray sensors by the current progress in these areas. The nature and quality of the electrical interface determines the stability and performance of diamond radiation detector devices. The project will exploit the flexibility of PLD which allows the investigators to deposit pure carbon layers under a variety of deposition conditions to control and adjust the structural and electronic contact layer properties. PLD will allow them to optimise the deposition parameters of the contact layers according to the radiation sensor performance during the first phase of the project. This will improve the understanding of the influence of the contact properties on the charge transport across the diamond/electrode interface.In the second phase, pad and position sensitive radiation sensors based on the results of the first phase of the investigation will be produced. The sensor performance, including the spatial variation of the response will be studied. The spatial resolution of the prototype position sensor will be investigated to estimate the potential of this development for future X-ray imaging and monitoring devices. The application of the contacting techniques developed is not limited to radiation sensing and every electronic application involving diamond, which can operate at temperatures up to several hundred Celsius and in challenging chemical environments, will benefit from an improved understanding of the processes affecting charge transport across electrode interfaces.
Key Findings
This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
Potential use in non-academic contexts
This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
Impacts
Description This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk Summary Date Materialised
Sectors submitted by the Researcher
This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
Project URL:
Further Information:
Organisation Website:	http://www.surrey.ac.uk