We have measured the radiation tolerance of poly-crystalline and single-crystalline diamonds grown by the chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process by measuring the charge collected before and after irradiation in a 50 m pitch strip detector fabricated on each diamond sample. We irradiated one group of sensors with 800 MeV protons, and a second group of sensors with 24 GeV protons, in steps, to protons cm−2 and protons cm−2 respectively. We observe the sum of mean drift paths for electrons and holes for both poly-crystalline CVD diamond and single-crystalline CVD diamond decreases with irradiation fluence from its initial value according to a simple damage curve characterized by a damage constant for each irradiation energy and the irradiation fluence. We find for each irradiation energy the damage constant, for poly-crystalline CVD diamond to be the same within statistical errors as the damage constant for single-crystalline CVD diamond. We find the damage constant for diamond irradiated with 24 GeV protons to be and the damage constant for diamond irradiated with 800 MeV protons to be . Moreover, we observe the pulse height decreases with fluence for poly-crystalline CVD material and within statistical errors does not change with fluence for single-crystalline CVD material for both 24 GeV proton irradiation and 800 MeV proton irradiation. Finally, we have measured the uniformity of each sample as a function of fluence and observed that for poly-crystalline CVD diamond the samples become more uniform with fluence while for single-crystalline CVD diamond the uniformity does not change with fluence.

Lapis Lazuli is one of the oldest precious stone, being used for glyptic as early as 7000 years ago: jewels, amulets, seals and inlays are examples of objects produced using this material. Only few sources of Lapis Lazuli exist in the world due to the low probability of geological conditions in which it can form, so that the possibility to associate the raw material to man-made objects helps to reconstruct trade routes. Since art objects produced using Lapis Lazuli are valuable, only nondestructive investigations can be carried out to identify the provenance of the raw materials. In the present work a systematic study of the luminescence properties of Lapis Lazuli under charged particles irradiation is reported. In a first phase a multi-technique approach was adopted (CL, SEM with microanalysis, micro-Raman) to characterise luminescent minerals. This characterisation was propaedeutic for IL/PIXE/PIGE measurements carried out on significant areas selected on the basis of results obtained previously. Criteria to identify provenance of Lapis Lazuli from four of the main sources (Afghanistan, Pamir Mountains in Tajikistan, Chile and Siberia) were proposed.

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Lapis lazuli has been used for glyptics and carving since the fifth millennium BC to produce jewels, amulets, seals, inlays, etc; the identification of the origin of the stone used for carving artworks may be valuable for reconstructing old trade routes. Since ancient lapis lazuli art objects are precious, only non-destructive techniques can be used to identify their provenance, and ion beam analyses (IBA) techniques allow us to characterise this stone in a fully non-invasive way. In addition, by using an ion microprobe, we have been able to focus the analysis on single crystals, as their typical dimensions may range from a few microns to hundreds of microns.Provenance markers, identified in previous IBA studies and already presented elsewhere, were based on the presence/absence of mineral phases, on the presence/quantity of trace elements inside a phase and on characteristic features of the luminescence spectra. In this work, a systematic study on pyrite crystals, a common accessory mineral in lapis lazuli, 2 was carried out, following a multi-technique approach: optical microscopy and SEM-EDX to select crystals for successive trace element micro-PIXE measurements at two Italian facilities, the INFN Laboratori Nazionali di Legnaro and the INFN LABEC laboratory in Firenze. The results of this work allowed us to obtain new markers for the lapis lazuli provenance identification.

Multiguard structures are used in order to enhance the breakdown voltage of microstrip detectors. In this work we studied the electrical properties of devices designed in four different layouts on n-Si substrates, based on a central diode surrounded by various p + and/or n + floating rings. In particular we measured the main DC characteristics and we compared the experimental results with those simulated by a two-dimensional drift-diffusion computer model. Device noise was also measured for the central diode as a function of the applied voltage. We repeated all measurements after neutron and gamma irradiation, in view of the application of these devices to silicon microstrip detectors for future high energy physics experiments. For example at the LHC the level of radiation damage expected during the detector lifetime implies very high bias voltages for the detector operation. Multiguards can offer a solution, provided the optimisation of the design takes into account the radiation effects.Presented at the IEEE Nuclear Science Symposium, Anaheim 3-9 november 1996Submitted to IEEE Trans. on Nucl. Sc. AbstractMultiguard structures are used in order to enhance the breakdown voltage of microstrip detectors. In this work we studied the electrical properties of devices designed in four different layouts on n-Si substrates, based on a central diode surrounded by various p + and/or n + floating rings. In particular we measured the main DC characteristics and we compared the experimental results with those simulated by a two-dimensional drift-diffusion computer model. Device noise was also measured for the central diode as a function of the applied voltage. We repeated all measurements after neutron and gamma irradiation, in view of the application of these devices to silicon microstrip detectors for future high energy physics experiments. For example at the LHC the level of radiation damage expected during the detector lifetime implies very high bias voltages for the detector operation. Multiguards can offer a solution, provided the optimisation of the design takes into account the radiation effects.

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Introduction: X-ray computed tomography (CT) is now used in the cultural heritage field because it is non-invasive and it can give a large amount of information on the inner structure of the object under study. Until recently mainly medical CT scanners or micro-CT setups have been used, limiting the analysis to relatively small artworks or requiring multiple acquisition and difficult image-joining for objects larger than detector dimensions.