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RAPAPORT... Element Six's new subsidiary, Diamond Detectors Ltd, will focus upon the development of customized detector solutions and will initially target four main markets: High energy physics, nuclear monitoring, radiotherapy dosimetry and deep-UV detection. Element Six, an independently operated subsidiary of the De Beers Group, produces all types of of synthetic diamond for industrial use.
"Spinning out Diamond Detectors will help accelerate the commercialization of diamond detectors and devices," explained Christian Hultner CEO of Element Six. "This new venture demonstrates the rapid pace of development and exploitation of the truly remarkable properties of diamond as an advanced engineering material. It is an exciting time: We are standing at the threshold of an era when a raft of new diamond products has become possible, thanks to breakthroughs in chemical vapour deposition (CVD) processes for diamond synthesis. E6 is at the forefront of developments in CVD diamond and is committed to future investment in this technology."
While diamond can act as a semiconductor material to detect many types of radiation from UV and X-rays to particle detection, said Kevin Oliver of Diamond Detectors, "The ability to make diamond material of the size, quality and consistency required for advanced detection applications opens up significant new potential markets for novel detectors in a wide range of industries.
"It also enables us to overcome the inherent problems associated with the selection of appropriate natural diamonds in existing detector applications," Oliver said.
The initial products under development cover applications in high energy physics research such as the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) project at CERN, the new Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research (FAIR) under development at GSI in Germany as well as the Diamond Light Source, the largest UK funded scientific facility to be built for more than 30 years.
Industrial applications include alpha, beta and neutron detection in the nuclear industry. Also on the horizon are development projects for detectors for use in medical dosimetry, data logging in oil well exploration, UV applications such as photolithography and cleaning for semiconductor manufacturing. "Diamond Detectors is already working closely with a number of industrial partners on the future commercialization of these potential products," said Oliver.
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