title: The presence of defects and their influence on the performance of CVD diamond as an alpha-particle radiation sensing element.
abstract: 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 alpha-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 alpha-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.
authors.affiliation: Radiation and Health Physics Unit, DST/NRF Centre of Excellence in Strong Materials and the School of Physics, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, PO Wits 2050, Johannesburg, Republic of South Africa.
authors.forename: R D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Mavunda
authors.forename: Y I
authors.initials: YI
authors.lastname: Zakari
authors.forename: T L
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Nam
authors.forename: R J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Keddy