Fabrication and characterization of Schott Borofloat® 33 microstrip electrodes

Microstrip electrodes fabricated using Schott Borofloat® 33 as the electrode substrate were recently characterized in order to optimize the performance of 6Li-based suspended foil microstrip neutron detectors. The Schott Borofloat® 33 microstrip electrode capacitance was measured to be 67 pF before characterization efforts were conducted using a collimated 241Am alpha-particle source positioned between the microstrip electrode and a planar drift electrode. Characterization studies were performed to define counting and gas multiplication curves as well as study the electrical stability of the microstrip electrode substrate. Electrical stability was observed for approximately 23 h after the initial hour testing. A non-uniform drift electric field strength distribution was observed by measuring the pulse amplitude from a collimated 241Am alpha-particle source positioned at five discrete positions along the span of the drift electric field region between the microstrip and drift electrodes. All measurements were conducted within a sealed aluminum enclosure backfilled with P-10 gas.