An IC Compatible Ionizing Radiation Detector

A new type of MOS ionization dosimetry device, which offers several major advantages over present detectors, is described. This device is fabricated using radiation-hardened CMOS processing technology, allowing integration of the ionization detector with radiation-hardened integrated circuits. The detector can be used as part of a circuit element which either switches state at a precisely controlled radiation level or provides an output voltage (or current) proportional to the total radiation dose. The radiation level at which the detector switches can be controlled either by a single precisely controlled process change, which also controls the rate of change of the output voltage versus irradiation level, or by an external bias. Dosimetry devices have been fabricated and tested under ionization radiation at levels from 5 × 103 to 5 × 105 rads (Si).