  The TOTEM experiment will detect leading protons scattered in angles of
microradians from the interaction point at the Large Hadron Collider. This will
be achieved using detectors with a minimized dead area at the edge. The
collaboration has developed an innovative structure at the detector edge
reducing the conventional dead width to less than 100 microns, still using
standard planar fabrication technology. In this new development, the current of
the surface is decoupled from the sensitive volume current within a few tens of
micrometers. The basic working principle is explained in this paper. Final size
detectors have been produced using this approach. The current-voltage and
current-temperature characteristics of the detectors were studied and the
detectors were successfully tested in a coasting beam experiment.
