Radiation detector of very high performance
First Claim
1. A radiation detector in which primary electrons are released into a gas by ionizing radiations and are caused to drift to a collecting electrode by means of an electric field, said radiation detector including a gas electron multiplier comprising at least one matrix of electric field condensing areas, said electric field condensing areas being distributed within a solid surface which is substantially perpendicular to said to said electric field, each of said condensing areas producing a local electric field amplitude enhancement sufficient to generate in said gas an electron avalanche from one of said primary electrons so that said gas electron multiplier operates as an amplifier of a given gain for said primary electrons,said matrix of electric field condensing areas comprising:
- an insulator having first and second foil metal claddings on opposed faces thereof forming a sandwich structure;
a plurality of through holes traversing said sandwich structure; and
biasing means for developing a bias voltage potential which is applied to said first and second metal claddings so as to generate, at each of said through holes, one of said electric field condensing areas, andsaid sandwich structure being disposed substantially perpendicular to said electric field, said first metal cladding forming an input face for said drift electrons and said second metal cladding forming an output face for any electron avalanche generated at each through hole forming one of said electric field condensing areas.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A radiation detector in which primary electrons are released into a gas by ionizing radiations and drifted through an electric field to a collecting electrode for detection. It further includes a gas electron multiplier formed by one or several matrices of electric field condensing areas which are distributed within a solid surface perpendicular to the electric field. Each electric field condensing area consists of a tiny hole passing through the solid surface that forms a dipole adapted to produce a local electric field amplitude enhancement proper to generate an electron avalanche from one primary electron. The gas electron multiplier operates thus as an amplifier or a preamplifier within a host radiation detector.
101 Citations
26 Claims
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1. A radiation detector in which primary electrons are released into a gas by ionizing radiations and are caused to drift to a collecting electrode by means of an electric field, said radiation detector including a gas electron multiplier comprising at least one matrix of electric field condensing areas, said electric field condensing areas being distributed within a solid surface which is substantially perpendicular to said to said electric field, each of said condensing areas producing a local electric field amplitude enhancement sufficient to generate in said gas an electron avalanche from one of said primary electrons so that said gas electron multiplier operates as an amplifier of a given gain for said primary electrons,
said matrix of electric field condensing areas comprising: -
an insulator having first and second foil metal claddings on opposed faces thereof forming a sandwich structure; a plurality of through holes traversing said sandwich structure; and biasing means for developing a bias voltage potential which is applied to said first and second metal claddings so as to generate, at each of said through holes, one of said electric field condensing areas, and said sandwich structure being disposed substantially perpendicular to said electric field, said first metal cladding forming an input face for said drift electrons and said second metal cladding forming an output face for any electron avalanche generated at each through hole forming one of said electric field condensing areas. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. In a radiation detector in which primary electrons are released into a gas by ionizing radiations, said radiation detector comprising a drift region from which said primary electrons are caused to drift by means of a substantially parallel electric field, a collection region, a gas electron multiplier located between said drift region and said collection region and comprising at least one matrix of electric field condensing areas, said electric field condensing areas being distributed within a solid surface which is substantially perpendicular to said parallel electric field, each of said condensing areas producing a local electric field amplitude enhancement to generate in said gas an electron avalanche from one of said primary electrons such that said gas electron multiplier operates as a preamplifier of given gain for said primary electrons upstream said collecting electrode of said radiation detector, and a collecting electrode for collecting from said collection region electrons produced by said electron avalanche, said matrix of electric field condensing areas comprising:
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an insulator having first and second metal claddings on opposed faces thereof so as to form a planar sandwich structure; a plurality of through holes extending transversely through said planar sandwich structure; and biasing means for providing a bias voltage which is applied to said first and second metal claddings so as to generate at the level of each of said through holes one of said electric field condensing areas. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17)
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18. A radiation detector in which primary electrons are released into a gas by ionizing radiations, said radiation detector comprising a drift region from which said primary electrons are caused to drift by means of an electric field, a collection region, a gas electron multiplier located between said drift region and said collection region and comprising at least one matrix of electric field condensing areas, said electric field condensing areas being distributed within a solid surface which is substantially perpendicular to said electric field, and a collecting electrode for collecting electrons from said collection region said matrix of electric field condensing areas comprising:
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an insulator having metal cladding on opposite faces thereof forming a sandwich structure; and a plurality of through holes extending transversely through said sandwich structure, each of said through holes having an opening aperture diameter comprised between 20 μ
m and 100 μ
m. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A radiation detector for photons emitted by an external source, said radiation detector comprising, in a vessel containing a gas adapted to generate an electron avalanche from a primary electron through an electric field:
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an inlet window having an inner face and a transparent electrode disposed on the inner face of said inlet window, said inlet window and transparent electrode being adapted to transmit said photons within said gas; a photocathode layer facing said transparent electrode, said photocathode layer being adapted to generate one photo-electron as a primary electron under impingement of each one of said photons thereon; a gas electron multiplier comprising at least one matrix of electric field condensing areas, said matrix of electric field condensing areas comprising; first and second foil metal-clad insulators on opposed faces of said matrix comprising first and second metal claddings and first and second insulators, said photocathode layer being disposed on said first metal cladding so as to face said transparent electrode, said photocathode layer, and said first and second metal claddings, forming a sandwich structure with said first and second insulators, and a plurality of through holes traversing said sandwich structure such that each of said through holes permits free flowing therethrough of the gas and any electrically charged particle generated therein; first biasing means for maintaining said transparent electrode and first metal cladding substantially at the same voltage value so as to allow extraction of any photo-electron generated by said photocathode layer under impingement thereof of each one of said photons; second biasing means for providing a bias voltage which is applied between said first and said second metal claddings, so as to form, at the level of each of said through holes, one of said electric field condensing areas in which a condensed electric field is generated so that said condensed electric field operates to convey each of said photo-electrons to one given electric field condensing area and to then generate from said photo-electron regarded as a primary electron one electron avalanche which is passed through said through hole forming said given electric field condensing area; a collecting electrode comprising a plurality of elementary anodes, said collecting electrode facing said second metal cladding and being spaced apart therefrom, so as to define a detection region within said vessel; and third biasing means for providing a bias voltage which is applied to said collecting electrode so as to allow the detection of said electron avalanche. - View Dependent Claims (24)
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- 25. A radiation detector in which primary electrons are released into a gas by ionizing radiations, said radiation detector comprising a drift region from which the primary electrons are caused to drift by means of an electric field, a collection region, a gas electron multiplier located between said drift region and said collection region, said multiplier comprising a sandwich structure comprising an insulator having first and second conductive surfaces on opposite sides thereof and a plurality of through holes extending transversely through said sandwich structure to form a matrix of electric field condensing areas, each of said electric field condensing areas producing a local electric field amplitude enhancement sufficient to generate in said gas an electron avalanche from any of said primary electrons in said drift region and to transfer multiplied electrons into the collection region, and a collecting electrode for collecting from said collection region multiplied electrons produced by said electron avalanche.
Specification