Megadevices of silicon microelectronics

The challenges of fundamental science have a direct impact on the boundaries of the field in which semiconductor devices and their technology definitely occupy a leading position. This stable trend was continued in recent decades, when the plans of fundamental high-energy physics have been consistently implemented along with the development of its instrumental base. This trend can be seen in the creation of new megadevices - such as particle detectors for experiments at the Large Hadron Collider, space gamma-telescopes and detectors of Dark Matter particles and particles, in which the scale of the silicon devices part goes beyond the usual understanding of a “semiconductor device”. In this review, these devices will be described in terms of semiconductor device physics, which allows estimating specific problems of their implementation and development prospects.