Tackling the Problem of Dangerous Radiation Levels with Organic Field-Effect Transistors

Accurate, quantitative measurements of ionizing radiation, commonly employed in medical diagnostic and therapeutic applications are essential prerequi-sites to minimize exposure risks. Common examples of radiation detectors include ionization chambers, thermoluminescent dosimeters, and various semiconductor detectors. Semiconductor dosimeters such as p/n type silicon diodes and MOSFETs have found widespread adoption due to their high sensitivity and easy processing. A significant limitation of these devices, however, is their lack of tissue equivalence. The high atomic number (relative to soft tissue) of silicon causes these devices to over-respond to photon beams that include a significant low energy component, for example, 1–10 kV, due to an enhanced photoelectric interaction coefficient. Organic field effect transistors (OFETs) are capable of providing tissue equivalent response to ionizing radiation in order to monitor more accurately the risk of exposure in medical treatments. This chapter presents the possibility to use different types of OFETs as ionizing and X-ray radiation dosimeters in medical applications.