A new class of low cost, high performance radiation detectors

A new class of radiation detectors has been conceived and demonstrated using plasma panel TV-set technology for direct conversion of ionizing radiation to free-electrons and a gaseous media for electron amplification with a gain of approximately 1011. For the basic configuration, a native pixel resolution of 10 mum appears feasible, with a pixel response time of 1 mus or faster, and a manufacturing cost of less than $1 per square inch for detector and electronics. New structures under consideration suggest the possibility that the plasma panel detector could be a transformational technology with low cost, large area, high spatial and temporal resolution, and potentially high efficiency, high energy spectral resolution and high neutron/gamma-ray discrimination