Handbook of Radiation Effects (Hardcover, 2nd Revised edition)

This revised second edition of a popular handbook for engineers describes the important relationship between high-energy radiation environments, electronic device physics and materials. It is a straightforward account of the problems which arise when high-energy radiation bombards matter and of engineering methods for solving those problems. Radiation effects are a problem encountered in the use of highly engineered materials such as semiconductors, optics and polymers. The finely-tuned properties of these materials may change drastically when exposed to a radiation environment such as a bean of X-rays or electrons, the space environment or the 'hadrons' in CERN's new collider. All of these environments and several more are described. The impact of these environments on microelectronics in computing, data processing and communication is the core of this book (highlighted in chapters on MOS and optical devices). While unashamedly oriented to the engineer-designer and manager, with descriptions in a highly readable form, there is no compromise in physical accuracy when describing high-energy radiation and the effects it produces, such as electronic failure, colour centres and the decay of strength. A great breadth of technical data, needed to make predictions on the spot, is presented, with literature references needed for further research and also a compendium of websites which have been tested and used by authors.