Author_Institution :
Dept of Electronics Eng and Information Science, Politecnico di Milano, Como, 22100, Italy
Abstract :
In this article, I will offer a brief overview of the progress toward
the current state of the art of integrated circuits (ICs) for the sciences
that make use of ionizing radiation (X- and c rays, electrons, protons, ions,
and alpha particles) for the discovery or study of fundamental
phenomena in nature. Two examples of these are astrophysics, which use radiation
spectrometry to study some of the fundamental processes occurring in and out
of our galaxy [1], [2], and elementary particle physics, in which ionizing
radiation is used to study the fundamental laws of matter [3]. Ionizing radiation
is also commonly employed in several applications related to human life. Examples
include medical imaging (CT, PET, X-ray radiography, and so on), radiotherapy,
and X-ray scanners for security.