A 4.5 μm PIN diamond diode for detecting slow neutrons

The response of a PIN diamond diode with a 4.5 μm thick i-layer to α-particles from a 210Po radioactive source has been measured and compared to the response from a 300 μm thick single crystal type IIa diamond. The results show that this PIN diamond diode with thin i-layer can be employed to detect slow neutrons following absorption on a converter boron layer. Such a detector will operate at low voltages and be rather insensitive to gamma background and neutron radiation damage.