Performance of diamond detectors for VUV applications

We report on experimental results with photodetectors made of diamond. the Large Yield Radiometer (LYRA), will use such detectors for the first time for a solar physics space instrument. A (LYRA) set of measurement campaigns was carried out to obtain their XUV-to-VIS characterization (responsivity, linearity, stability, homogeneity). The responsivity has been measured from the XUV to the NIR, in the wavelength range 1-1127 nm (i.e. 1240-1.1 eV). The diamond detectors exhibit a photoresponse varying in the 40-75 mA/W range at 7 nm and demonstrate a visible rejection ratio (200 versus 500 nm) larger than four orders of magnitude. We show that diamond photodetectors are sensitive sensors for VUV photons, stable within a few percent, with a good linearity and moderate homogeneity. © 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved