Detector

A method for producing a converter for a detector for detecting electrically neutral particles comprising the following steps:

• providing a plurality of insulator layers, each said insulator layer having opposite surfaces and two electrically conductive layers disposed respectively on the opposite surfaces of each respective insulator layer, so that the electrically conductive layers are electrically insulated from one another, each said insulator layer and the electrically conductive layers adjacent thereto defining a converter device;
• providing a converter layer arranged on at least one of the conductive layers of each said converter device, the converter layer being formed of a material different than the conductive layer on which the converter layer is arranged;
• and
• arranging a plurality of the converter devices in a cascade form, wherein each said converter device has a multiplicity of passages, for the electrically charged particles, and the passages in at least two adjacent converter devices are not in alignment.

A detection method for detecting electrically neutral particles comprising the following steps:

• trapping the electrically neutral particles which are to be detected using a plurality of converter devices arranged in a cascade form for generating conversion products when the neutral particles are absorbed, each said converter device having an insulator with two opposite surfaces, two electrically conductive layers disposed respectively on the opposite surfaces of the insulator so that the electrically conductive layers are electrically insulated from one another, a converter layer being provided on at least one of the conductive layers of each said converter device, the converter layer being formed of a material different than the conductive layer on which the converter layer is arranged;
• generating electrically charged particles in a counting gas by means of the conversion products;
• diverting the electrically charged particles in an electrical drift field to a readout device, at least some of the electrically charged particles being passed through the converter devices through a multiplicity of passages, which are arranged in the form of a matrix, in the converter devices;
• and
• detecting the electrically charged particles in the readout device, wherein each said converter device has said multiplicity of passages, for the electrically charged particles, and the passages in at least two adjacent converter devices are not in alignment.