The presence of defects and their influence on the performance of CVD diamond as an α-particle radiation sensing element

Three types of diamonds produced by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and broadly classified as detector grade, optical grade and single crystal were evaluated in terms of their response to α-particle radiation when used as detection elements. It is well known that the presence of defects in diamond, including CVD specimens, not only dictates but also affects the response of diamond to radiation in different ways. In this investigation, tools such as electron spin resonance (ESR), thermo-luminescence (TL), Raman spectroscopy and ultraviolet (UV) spectroscopy were used to probe each of the samples, which were then graded on their performance as α-particle radiation detectors. The presentation discusses the presence of defects identifiable by the techniques used and correlates the radiation performances of the three types of crystals to their presence.