A wireless transmission low-power radiation sensor for in vivo dosimetry

The aim of the paper is to illustrate the design and the performance of a microelectronic circuit composed of a dosimeter, an oscillator, a modulator, a transmitter and an antenna. The device was designed for specific in vivo dosimetry applications. However, the layout area of less than 1 mm2 makes it suitable for a large variety of applications, from spot radiation monitoring systems in medicine to accurate measurements of radiation level in high-energy physics experiments. Moreover, due to its extremely low-power budget, it might be also of interest for space applications. The chip embeds a re-programmable floating-gate transistor configured as a radiation sensor and a read-out circuit. Prototype chips have been fabricated and tested exploiting a commercial 180 nm, four-metal CMOS technology. Characterization tests of the performance of the Ultra-Wide Band transmission are summarized. The dosimeter prototype has an estimated sensitivity of 1 mV/rad within a total absorbed dose range up to 10 krad. The read-out circuit is powered with 3.3 V and the total power consumption is very low, i.e. about 165 μW, making it also upgradable with a remote power system.