Dosimetry based on the erasure of floating gates in the natural radiation environments in space

A new method is described for measuring ionizing radiation on spacecraft using an array of floating gate avalanche injected metal oxide silicon (FAMOS) transistors. A commercial ultraviolet erasable programmable read only memory (UVPROM) is used to demonstrate the technique for both ground and space dosimetry applications. An indirect measurement of the charge remaining on the floating gate is used to determine the absorbed dose. This method of determining dose leaves the data and the detector intact and capable of further measurements. The device requires power only during readout. Measurements of different ionizing radiation types are presented. Results from an experiment using this technique aboard the Microelectronics and Photonics Test Bed (MPTB) satellite are discussed.