Evaluation of Diamond Detector Reliability in Extreme Environments for Fusion Applications

Single-crystal Chemical Vapor Deposition (sCVD) diamond detectors are used in Magnetic Confinement Fusion (MCF) and Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) experiments to measure neutron energy spectra and implosion timing. These experiments involve conditions that challenge detector performance: high and low temperatures, strong magnetic fields, and high radiation fluxes and fluences. This project will evaluate commercially available sCVD diamond detectors under such conditions and compare their performance to that of advanced structured diamond detectors that will be developed in a future stage of the project. The different detector capabilities required by MCF and ICF will be considered. A test stand is being created to operate diamond detectors in a temperature range of -250C to 600C. This poster presents initial results from exposing the detectors to neutrons, alphas, gammas, and x-rays. The detector efficiency, linearity, noise characteristics, and sensitivity to different radiation particles will be measured to establish the reliability and limitations of diamond detectors in fusion-relevant temperatures.