Experience with laser microfabricated detectors at the University of Louisville

We have designed, produced, and tested several different types of micropatterned gas proportional counters at the University of Louisville. A particular specialty has been the development and application of laser micromachining techniques to produce devices as the Microwell, GEM, and Microtube. Laser micromachining is a new technology with particular advantages for detector fabrication, including the ability to produce novel structures, machine wells in thick substrates, and produce detector arrays well suited to inclusion in modern microelectronics components. We report here the development of the Microwell detector and laser micromachining techniques for its production. First results are also presented for the Microtube detector, a device with a reduced anode formed as a tube extending into the center of the well