A 3-dimensional interdigitated electrode geometry for the enhancement of charge collection efficiency in diamond detectors

In this work, a single crystal CVD diamond film with a novel three-dimensional (3D) interdigitated electrode geometry has been fabricated with the reactive ion etching (RIE) technique in order to increase the charge collection efficiency (CCE) with respect to that obtained by standard superficial electrodes. The geometrical arrangement of the electric field lines due to the 3D patterning of the electrodes results in a shorter travel path for the excess charge carriers, thus contributing to a more efficient charge collection mechanism. The CCE of the device was mapped by means of the ion beam induced charge (IBIC) technique. A 1MeV proton micro- beam was raster-scanned over the active area of the diamond detector under different bias voltage conditions, enabling to probe the charge transport properties of the detector up to a depth of 8 μm below the sample surface. The experimental results, supported by the numerical simulations, show a significant improvement in the 3D detector performance (i.e. CCE, energy resolution, extension of the active area) if compared with the results obtained by standard surface metallic electrodes.