Defects in CVD diamond films from their response as nuclear detectors

CVD diamond films can be used to realize nuclear detectors with outstanding working capability in harsh environments. Since efficient particle detection requires high drift lengths of the carriers produced by the ionizing particle, the presence of defects severely limits the performance of these detectors. This is a major issue because the fabrication technology of CVD diamond is much less advanced than that of more conventional materials like silicon. The different kinds of defects in GVD diamond and their influence on the detector response are discussed. The connections between the microscopic structure of CVD diamond and the priming (or pumping) effect, which is widely used to increase CVD diamond detector performance, are elucidated. The analysis of the response of CVD diamond-based detectors is used to extract qualitative and quantitative information on the properties of defects limiting the free movement of charge carriers in the detector (e.g., carrier type for which the traps are active, activation energies, geometrical distribution in the film, etc.)