The Use of Microcontrollers by Scientists in Experimental Research Applications

Abstract

If the microcontrollers are devices quite easy to use for experts in electronics, a scientist devoted to different research topics from digital electronics is generally totally unable to develop and use these complex components. Most of the time, the researcher is looking for simple devices able to control different parameters during his experimentation. He is obliged in this case to request the intervention of an expert in electronics to develop such a device and the result is sometimes different from the precise initial requirement. Nowadays, it is possible to find on the market, simple units able to satisfy the requirements of the scientist and easy enough to be manipulated by him in specific applications. The purpose of this paper is to present some of these devices and to compare their possibilities and the ways to use them. These devices are compared in optically stimulated dosimetry with applications found in external dosimetry, interventional radiology, nuclear medicine and space dosimetry.