Application of CVD diamonds as dosimeters of soft X-ray emission from plasma sources

The thermoluminescent properties of polycrystalline chemical vapour deposition (CVD) diamond, as free-standing CVD cutting tool material, type CVDITE-CDM (De Beers Company), were studied with respect to its use in the dosimetry of soft X-ray emission from laser-produced plasma. The range of linearity for 5.9-keV radiation was measured to be only two orders of magnitude, ranging from a sensitivity threshold of similar to0.01 to similar to2 Gy. In this linearity range, the sensitivity of CVD diamonds is about 65 times lower than the sensitivity of TLD-100 dosimeters. The unpolished (grained) face of CVD diamonds shows similar to1.5-times higher thermoluminescence (TL) response after irradiation than the polished face, in the high-temperature range, but the polished face shows slightly higher TL response in the low-temperature range. A strong TL sensitivity to the blue portion of the visible light spectrum was measured. Simultaneous irradiation of TLD-100 dosimeters and CVD diamonds by soft X-rays emitted from a laser-produced plasma showed that CVDITE-CDM diamonds can be applied as detectors of intense soft X-ray radiation. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.