CMOS monolithic active pixel sensors (MAPS) for scientific applications: Some notes about radiation hardness

Invented in the early 1990s on both sides of the Atlantic, Monolithic Active Pixel Sensors (MAPS) in a CMOS technology are today the most sold solid-state imaging device, overtaking the traditional technology of Charge-Coupled Devices (CCD). The slow uptake of CMOS MAPS started from low-end applications, like for example web cams and is slowly pervading the high-end applications, like for example in prosumer digital cameras. Higher specifications are required for scientific applications: very low noise, high speed, high dynamic range, large format and radiation hardness are some of these requirements. This paper will briefly review the main results on radiation hardness for monolithic active pixel sensors. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.