Multiplying Electrons With Diamond

About this technology

Overview

NASA's Dr. Gerald Mearini, Dr. Isay Krainsky, and Dr. James Dayton discovered that laboratory-grown diamond films can produce up to 45 electrons from a single incident electron. Having built an electron multiplier prototype at NASA, Mearini started his own company, GENVAC, to develop diamond structures usable in electron beam devices. GENVAC produces chemical vapor deposited diamond as a dynode for electronic and electro-optical device components. Diamond dynodes allow manufacturers to make devices considerably smaller, in addition to increasing their efficiency and reliability. Applications include electron beam amplification devices such as night vision goggles and specialized sensors, field emission cathodes for flat panel displays, and heat spreaders for thermal management. In another field, a leading manufacturer and supplier of specialized electron tubes and electro-optic products applied GENVAC's diamond to its dynodes for photo multiplier tubes (PMT) with medical applications. Beginning with the production of diamond-based PMTs in late 2000, the technology is leading the way for smaller, more efficient medical devices.