3D printing of gaseous radiation detectors

Abstract

Additive manufacturing techniques such as 3D printing offer unprecedented flexibility in realising intricate geometries. Fused-filament fabrication and high-precision inkjet 3D printing of metals and polymers was used to create functional composite structures, which were operated as radiation detectors. Electron avalanche multiplication in a 3D printed structure was achieved. We present an ionisation chamber and a coarse 2D readout anode with orthogonal strips, which were printed with PLA and graphite-loaded PLA . High-resolution inkjet 3D printing was used to create a Thick Gaseous Electron Multiplier (THGEM) . This represents the first realisation of a fully 3D printed structure achieving electron multiplication. Optical readout was used to quantify the gain factor of the structure and an image under X-ray irradiation was acquired. While the hole geometry of this prototype device inhibited high gain factors, it demonstrates that additive manufacturing is a viable approach for creating detector structures. The conventional manufacturing approach by photolithographic techniques will continue to dominate large size and volume production of MicroPattern Gaseous Detectors (MPGDs) but prototyping and results-driven detector optimisation may greatly benefit from the cost and time-effectiveness of 3D printing.