Reversible photoinduced electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) signals and photoconductivity were observed when a solution of tetracyancethylene (TCNE) in tetrahydrofuran (THF) was irradiated in the charge-transfer band of the complex formed between these two compounds. The eleven-line hyperfine structure of the EPR spectrum which was obtained demonstrated the presence of TCNE negative ion radical. The concentration of this radical was found to be directly proportional to the square root of the light intensity. Second order decay kinetics were followed when the light was shut off. Both the EPR signal and the photoconductivity rose initially as the square of the time. The latter portions of the growth curves could be fit to the latter portions of a hyperbolic tangential growth curve. From these data a reaction mechanism was proposed. The rate law dn/dt + kn{sup 2} = {alpha}L(1-e{sup -{beta}t}) = 0, where n = the concentration of radicals, t = the time, k, {alpha}, and {beta} are rate constants, and L = the light intensity, described both the photo-induced EPR and the photoconductivity within the limits of experimental accuracy.

Drifting a thick lithium-drifted counter (silicon and germanium) is a time-consuming operation that frequently results in a poor device, owing to inadequate knowledge of progress of the drifting operation. The drifting apparatus described here automatically controls the temperature of the detector that is being drifted to maintain the leakage current at a preselected value. While drifting proceeds, a continuous measurement is made of the distance of the lithium-drifted region from the opposite face of the wafer. When the drifted region reaches 30 mil or less from the back of the wafer a meter indicates the thickness of the undrifted region and, when this thickness falls below a preselected value, the temperature of the detector is automatically reduced to room temperature. The need for constant supervision of the drifting operation is thereby eliminated, and reliance on theoretical drift-rate calculations to predict the drift-through time is avoided. The technique has been applied to the manufacture of lithium-drifted silicon detectors with excellent results. The application of the technique to lithium-drifted germanium {gamma} detectors is also discussed briefly.