High rate operation of micro-strip gas chambers on diamond-coated glass

Very high rate operation of micro-strip gas chambers can be achieved using slightly conducting substrates. We describe preliminary measurements realized with detectors manufactured on boro-silicate glass coated, before the photo-lithographic processing, with a diamond layer having a surface resistivity of around 1014Ω/. Stable medium-term operation, and a rate capability largely exceeding the one obtained with identical plates manufactured on uncoated glass are demonstrated. If these results are confirmed by long-term measurements, the diamond coating technology appears very attractive since it allows, with a moderate cost overhead, to use thin, commercially available glass with the required surface quality for the large-scale production of gas micro-strip detectors.