Silicon and Silicon Carbide Technologies for Nuclear Medicine: Performance, AI-Augmented Imaging, and Future Prospects

Silicon-based technologies have become central to modern nuclear medicine, owing to their superior spatial resolution, mature microfabrication infrastructure, compact form factor, and seamless compatibility with advanced readout electronics. In parallel, silicon carbide (SiC) has emerged as a promising wide-bandgap semiconductor for radiation detection and dosimetry in demanding environments, particularly where radiation hardness, thermal stability, and high-temperature operability are required. This  study examines the physical basis of silicon detectors, their operation principles, and their applications in nuclear medicine imaging, dosimetry, and medical electronics, with emphasis on positron emission tomography (PET), single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), and hybrid imaging systems. The article also compares silicon and SiC in terms of bandgap, charge transport, radiation tolerance, breakdown strength, energy resolution, and fabrication maturity. In addition, the role of silicon technologies in the development of digital medicine and artificial intelligence-assisted imaging is discussed, along with the current progress of nuclear medicine infrastructure and initiatives in Saudi Arabia. The  study concludes that silicon remains a mature and highly effective detector material for high-resolution nuclear medicine applications, while SiC offers a strong future pathway for next-generation dosimetry and radiation-hard detector systems.

[1]   Wedepohl KH. The composition of the continental crust. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta. 1995;59(7):1217–1232. https://doi.org/10.1016/0016-7037(95)00038-2

[2]   Datnoff LE, Snyder GH, Kornd?rfer GH, eds. Silicon in Agriculture. Studies in Plant Science, Vol. 8. Amsterdam: Elsevier; 2001. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0928-3420(01)80001-X

[3]  Colas A, Curtis J. Silicone biomaterials: history and chemistry. In: Ratner BD, Hoffman AS, Schoen FJ, Lemons JE, eds. Biomaterials Science: An Introduction to Materials in Medicine. 2nd ed. Elsevier Academic Press; 2004. pp. 80–86. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-012582463-7/50009-2

[4]  Curtis J, Colas A. Medical applications of silicones. In: Ratner BD, Hoffman AS, Schoen FJ, Lemons JE, eds. Biomaterials Science: An Introduction to Materials in Medicine. 3rd ed. Academic Press; 2013. pp. 1106–1116. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-08-087780-8.00096-3

[5] Lin W, Hoff H. Silicon materials. In: Doering R, Nishi Y, eds. Handbook of Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology. 2nd ed. Boca Raton: CRC Press; 2008. https://doi.org/10.1201/9781420017663

[6]   Knoll GF. Radiation Detection and Measurement. 4th ed. New York: John Wiley & Sons; 2010. ISBN: 978-0-470-13148-0

[7]  Dalla Betta GF, Boscardin M, Bomben M, Calderini G, Chauveau J, Chauveau J, Darbo G, Giacomini G, La Rosa A, Mendicino R, Mu?oz FJ, Quirion D, Ronchin S, Sultan DMS. Silicon radiation detector technologies: from planar to 3D. Chips. 2023;2(2):83–101. https://doi.org/10.3390/chips2020006

[8]   Michail C, Fountos G, Kalyvas N, Valais I. Radiation detectors and sensors in medical imaging. Sensors (Basel). 2024;24(19):6251. https://doi.org/10.3390/s24196251

[9]   Studen A, Brzezinski K, Chesi E, Cindro V, Clinthorne NH, Cochran E, Gro?i?ar B, Grkovski M, Honscheid K, Kagan H, Lacasta C, Llosa G, Miku? M, Stankova V, Weilhammer P, ?ontar D. Silicon detectors for combined MR-PET and MR-SPECT imaging. Nucl Instrum Methods Phys Res A. 2012;702:88–90. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nima.2012.08.040

[10]   H?rk?nen J. Development of radiation hard particle detectors made of Czochralski grown silicon. Acta Physica Polonica A. 2013;124(2):372–376. https://doi.org/10.12693/aphyspola.124.372

[11]  Park SJ, Rogers WL, Huh S, Kagan H, Honscheid K, Burdette D, Chesi E, Lacasta C, Llosa G, Mikuz M, Studen A, Weilhammer P, Clinthorne NH. A prototype of very high-

        resolution small animal PET scanner using silicon pad detectors. Nucl Instrum Methods Phys Res A. 2007;570(3):543–555. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nima.2006.10.277

[12]    Boguszewska-Czubara A, Pasternak K. Silicon in medicine and therapy. J Elem. 2011;16(3):489–497. https://doi.org/10.5601/jelem.2011.16.3.13

[13]   Kramberger G. Radiation effects in silicon detectors. Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A. 2019;924:192–197. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nima.2018.09.060

[14] Bolla G, Andreev V, Baumbaugh A, Chramowicz J, Dagenhart D, Goldstein J, Gutierrez G, Hidas D, Hill C, Howell J, Jensen H, Johnson M, Kwan S, Lipton R, Noyes V, Pixley J, Sipos R, Skup KR, Whitmore J. Sensor development for the CMS pixel detector. Nucl Instrum Methods Phys Res A. 2002;485(1):89–97. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0168-9002(01)01904-1

[15]  Grodzicka M, Moszy?ski M, Szcz??niak T, Kaczmarek M, Grodzicki M, Wolski D, Baszak J. Silicon photomultipliers in detectors for nuclear medicine. In: Nuclear Medicine 

         Imaging Detectors. CRC Press; 2015. https://doi.org/10.1201/b18957-8

[16] Mazzillo M, Condorelli G, Sanfilippo D, Valvo G, Carbone B, Piana A, Fallica G, Billotta S, Belluso M, Bonanno G, Cosentino L, Pappalardo A, Finocchiaro P. Silicon 

        photomultipliers for nuclear medical imaging applications. Proc SPIE. 2008;70030I. https://doi.org/10.1117/12.780204

[17]     Cherry SR, Sorenson JA, Phelps ME. Physics in Nuclear Medicine. 4th ed. Philadelphia: Elsevier Saunders; 2012. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-1-4160-5198-5.00001-0

[18]     Tettey-Engmann F. Advances in artificial intelligence-based medical devices for healthcare applications. Biomed Mater Devices. 2025. https://doi.org/10.1007/s44174-025-00243-2

[19]       International Atomic Energy Agency. Annual Report 2020. Vienna: IAEA; 2020. https://www.iaea.org/publications/reports/annual-report-2020

[20]   Li H, Shi L, Ye Z, Jian Y, Chen B, Gong Z. Application of silicon nanowire field effect transistor (SiNW-FET) biosensor with high sensitivity. Sensors. 2023;23(15):6808. https://doi.org/10.3390/s23156808

[21]  Petringa G, Cirrone GAP, Cuttone G, Fazzi A, Giordanengo S, Manti L, Marchetto F, Raffaele L, Rotondi M, Sabini MG, Valastro LM. Silicon carbide sensors in radiotherapy

        dosimetry: progress, challenges, and perspectives. Front Sens. 2025. https://doi.org/10.3389/fsens.2025.1608902

[22] Tooley MA. Electronics and biological signal processing. BJA Educ. 2023 Apr;23(4):122-127. doi: 10.1016/j.bjae.2022.12.004. Epub 2023 Feb 8. PMID: 36960437; PMCID: PMC10028393.

[23]   Chircov C, Grumezescu AM. Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) for biomedical applications. Micromachines. 2022;13(2):164. https://doi.org/10.3390/mi13020164

[24]   Lecoq P. Development of new scintillators for medical applications. Nucl Instrum Methods Phys Res A. 2017;809:130–139. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nima.2015.08.041

[25]   Conti M, Bendriem B. The new opportunities for high time resolution clinical TOF PET. Clin Transl Imaging. 2019;7:139–147. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40336-019-00316-5

[26]  Lozovoy KA, Kokhanenko AP, Dirko VV, Kukenov OI, Akimenko NS, Voitsekhovskii AV. Silicon-based avalanche photodiodes: advancements and applications in medical

        imaging. Nanomaterials. 2023;13(23):3078. https://doi.org/10.3390/nano13233078

[27]  Owens A. Compound Semiconductor Radiation Detectors. CRC Press; 2022. https://doi.org/10.1201/9781315225425

[28]  Lutz G. Semiconductor Radiation Detectors: Device Physics. Springer; 1999. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-71679-2

[29]    Spieler H. Semiconductor Detector Systems. Oxford University Press; 2005. https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198527848.001.0001

[30]    Hartmann F. Evolution of Silicon Sensor Technology in Particle Physics. 2nd ed. Springer; 2017. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-64436-3

[31]   Matsumoto T, Yamaguchi K, Yanagisawa R, Kubodera K, Arai Y, Makino T, Hirano Y, Ohno T. Development of a SiC semiconductor-based dosimeter for evaluating clinical dose

         distribution in carbon ion cancer therapy fields. Nucl Instrum Methods Phys Res B. 2023;542:151–157. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nimb.2023.06.013

[32]    Saini AS, Zhu TC. Energy dependence of commercially available diode detectors for in-vivo dosimetry. Med Phys. 2007;34(5):1704–1711. https://doi.org/10.1118/1.2719365

[33]   Tudisco S, Altana C, Boscarino S, Cardella G, Cavallaro S, De Luca A, Dell'Aquila D, Di Toro M, Ferrar? D, Gao Z, Greco V, Lombardo I, Longo S, Maiolino C, Martorana N, Pagano A, Papa M, Pirrone S, Politi G, Porto F, Rizzo F, Russotto P, Scuderi V, Souliotis G, Stefanini AA. SiCILIA — silicon carbide detectors for intense luminosity investigations and applications. Sensors. 2018;18(7):2289. https://doi.org/10.3390/s18072289

[34]  AlDawood Z, Alotaibi S, Alghamdi A, Alhazmi F, Alqahtani M, Alshahrani M. Emergency preparedness plan in radiology and nuclear medicine departments in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Radiat Phys Chem. 2025;237. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.radphyschem.2025.112651

[35]  Al Asmri M, Alotaibi J, Alwahbi A, Almadani N, Alabdullah AA, Alsharqi O, Hamidi S. The public health care system and primary care services in Saudi Arabia: a system in transition. East Mediterr Health J. 2020;26(4):468–476. https://doi.org/10.26719/emhj.20.050

[36] Alrehily F. Diagnostic reference levels of radiographic and CT examinations in Saudi Arabia: a systematic  study. Radiat Prot Dosimetry. 2022;198(19):1451–1461. https://doi.org/10.1093/rpd/ncac183

[37]   Al-Qahtani SM, Abuhaimed A, Alarifi A, Alghamdi S, Alrushoud A, Alsufiani H, Alsuhibani M, Alswieleh A, Alzimami K, Babikir E, Bashier A, Kharita MH. The establishment of national diagnostic reference levels for adult SPECT-CT in Saudi Arabia. J Radiol Prot. 2023;43(3). https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6498/ace452

[38]  Albahiti SK, Khafaji M, Batawil N, Catipay N, Alsafi K. Enhancing nuclear medicine practice in Saudi Arabia: advocating for comprehensive guidelines and local diagnostic reference levels. Cureus. 2024;16(2):e54230. https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.54230

[39]  Alsulimane ME. Evaluation of computed tomography radiation dose metrics in Saudi Arabia: comparison to national and international diagnostic reference levels. Saudi Med J. 2025;46(12):1409–1418. https://doi.org/10.15537/smj.2025.46.12.20250527

[40]  Almuhammad A, Alrasheed M. "Design and Development of a Feeding Unit for Medical Devices Implanted Inside Human Body Using Artificial Intelligence Theories". Islamic

        University Journal of Applied Sciences. 2024;VI(I):151–167. https://doi.org/10.63070/jesc.2024.007