Enhanced radiation hardness and signal recovery in thin diamond detectors

Using the advantage of the high spatial resolution of the Ruđer Bošković Institute (RBI) ion microprobe, small areas of a thin membrane single crystal chemical vapor deposition (scCVD) diamond detector were intentionally damaged with a high-intensity 26-MeV oxygen ion beam at various fluences, producing up to ∼1018 vacancies/cm3. The response of the detector was tested with the ion beam-induced charge technique (IBIC) using a 2-MeV proton beam as a probe. The signal amplitudes decreased down to approximately 50% of the original value at low electric fields (<10 V/μm) inside the detector. However, the increase of electric field to values of ∼100 V/μm completely recovers the signal amplitude. The results presented herein can facilitate the development of true radiation hard particle detectors.