Linear energy transfer

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Linear energy transfer (LET) is a measure of the energy transferred to material as an ionizing particle travels through it. Typically, this measure is used to quantify the effects of ionizing radiation on biological specimens or electronic devices.

When used to describe the dosimetry of ionizing radiation in the biological or biomedical setting, the LET is usually expressed in units of keV/µm.

For electronic devices for aerospace application, LET is typically expressed in units of MeV·cm²/mg of material (The material in question is usually Si for MOS devices). The units of measurement arise from a combination of the energy lost by the particle to the material per unit path length (MeV/cm) divided by the density of the material (mg/cm³). ^[1] describes and quantifies the effects of radiation on electronic devices intended for use in space.