IONIZING RADIATION DETECTOR

摘要

An ionizing radiation detector comprises a flat substrate (30) having a plurality of etched parallel ridges (40) on one surface. The parallel sides of the ridges carry a thin layer of a conducting material, acting as an electrode (50, 60). A particle or radiation beam (70) to be detected impinges on the ridges (40) in a direction normal to the plane of the substrate, so causing electron/hole carriers production within the ridges (40). The carriers migrate to the electrodes (50, 60) in a direction perpendicular to the beam (70) thereby inducing charge on the electrodes. The readout can be extremely rapid, since the carriers need to migrate only a very small distance to the side of the ridge.