Evaluation of commercial programmable floating gate devices as radiation dosimeters

Programmable floating gate MOSFET transistors were tested with gamma radiation with doses up to approximately 100Gy (air equivalent), to evaluate their suitability as dosimeters in radiotherapy. After characterization and programming at different threshold voltages, the devices were irradiated and their Vgs shift with dose monitored in real time. Post-irradiation analysis was carried out to evaluate sensitivity, linearity, reproducibility and voltage threshold annealing. A subsequent re-programming phase followed by characterization was performed to asses their post-irradiation charge restoring capabilities. It was found that up to 73% of the initial maximum threshold voltage could be recovered. A sensitivity of up to 9 mV/Gy with an uncertainty of less than 1%, an excellent linearity up to the maximum programmable threshold voltage and low noise suggest the use of this technology for in vivo dosimetry applications.