A direct experimental comparison of single-crystal CVD diamond and silicon carbide X-ray beam position monitors

Single-crystal chemical vapour deposition (CVD) diamond detectors are an established transmissive synchrotron beamline diagnostic instrument used for beam position and beam intensity monitoring. A recently commercialized alternative is silicon carbide (4H-SiC) devices. These have the potential to provide the same diagnostic information as commercially available single-crystal CVD diamond X-ray beam position monitors, but with a much larger transmissive aperture. At Diamond Light Source an experimental comparison of the performance of single-crystal CVD diamond and 4H-SiC X-ray beam position monitors has been carried out. A quantitative comparison of their performance is presented in this paper. The single-crystal diamond and 4H-SiC beam position monitors were installed in-line along the synchrotron X-ray beam path enabling synchronous measurements at kilohertz rates of the beam motion from both devices. The results of several tests of the two position monitors’ performance are presented: comparing signal uniformity across the surface of the detectors, comparing kHz intensity measurements, and comparing kHz beam position measurements from the detectors. Each test is performed with a range of applied external bias voltages. A discussion of the benefits and limitations of 4H-SiC and single-crystal CVD diamond detectors is included.