Diamond Detector
Diamonds have several properties which make them the ideal material for use in synchrotron beam lines, including their hardness, solar-blindness, low-Z, high thermal conductivity, and radiation hardness. A team from Brookhaven National Laboratory is at the forefront of diamond x-ray diagnostics for use in beam lines.
A diamond imager with 1000 pixels developed by the instrumentation division at
Brookhaven National Laboratory. This device is capable of nondestructively, real
time imaging a focused white x-ray beam with 60 um pixels, and also works for
monochromatic beams. Diamond is a remarkable material for radiation detection
and monitoring. It has a high mobility for both electrons and holes, with a saturation
velocity in excess of 10^7 cm/s for both. It is extremely radiation hard, and has a
high dielectric strength. It is solar blind and low Z, meaning it has a low cross section
for gamma background. It has a linear response to incident x-ray power over more
than 11 orders of magnitude. It has the highest thermal conductivity (at room
temperature) of any material.
Further Information
Diamond Detector Captures Last X-Rays at NSLS.Smedley, John. "Diamond X-ray Diagnostics Building a Better Beam." (2015) Brookhaven National Laboratory.
Bohon, Jen, John Smedley, Erik M. Muller, and Jeffrey W. Keister. "Development of Diamond-Based X-ray Detection for High Flux Beamline Diagnostics.” Materials Research Society 1203 (2010): n. pag.
