Handbook of radiation effects. 2nd edition (Relié)

This second edition of a popular handbook for engineers fills a gap in the fields of highenergy 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 beam 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 (chapters on MOS and power 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 highenergy radiation and the solid-state point defects which it induces, for example colour centres, electronic failure 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 the authors.