Monolithic integration of a nuclear radiation sensor and transistors on high-purity silicon

The physical operation of nuclear radiation sensors is briefly reviewed. A description is given of a typical experimental measurement-system setup, which can be divided into two parts: the application-specific part (including the detector and its associated electronics) and the computer-interfaced part (consisting of a multichannel analyzer). A number of recent improvements in the system design are discussed, and an extended description and a physical example are given of one of the most promising new ideas-the monolithic integration of both the radiation sensor and its associated electronics on one high-ohmic silicon substrate. The results proved to be a stimulus for making nuclear radiation sensors smart enough for direct digital input into computer systems