Abstract
Problem statement: The amount of ionizing radiation that Bipolar Junction Transistor (BJT) devices encounter during their lifecycle degrades both of their functional and electrical parameter performances. The different radiation environments either in space, high energy physics experiments, nuclear environment or fabrication process as well as for standard terrestrial operation possess an impact on the devices. Approach: In this research, analytical studies of the effects of ionizing radiation introduced in Commercial-Off-The Shelf (COTS) NPN BJTs by 60Co gamma (I³) rays had been performed. Results: It was observed that exposure of BJTs to 60Co caused ionizing radiation damage. Ionizing radiation damage was caused mainly by excess charges trapped on or near the surfaces of their insulating layers and interfaces. This phenomenon reduced the minority carrier lifetime and thus, leading to a decrease in the current gain of the BJTs. Conclusion: This ionizing radiation effect was found to arouse either a permanent or temporarily damage in the devices depending on their current drives and also the Total Ionizing Dose (TID) absorbed. The performance and degradation of selected BJT devices during irradiation with respect to total dose 60Co were presented in this study. © 2010 Science Publications.
Highlights
Ionizing radiation damage was caused mainly by excess charges trapped on or near the surfaces of their insulating layers and interfaces. This phenomenon reduced the minority carrier lifetime and leading to a decrease in the current gain of the Bipolar Junction Transistor (BJT). This ionizing radiation effect was found to arouse either a permanent or temporarily damage in the devices depending on their current drives and the Total Ionizing Dose (TID) absorbed
Depending on the type of semiconductor device and its deployment, it may be exposed to two types of radiation environments which are the exoatmospheric and endoatmospheric radiation (Guitierrez, 1999)
It was found that the generation and annealing characteristics of the oxide-trapped charges and the interface states in semiconductor devices due to TID are strongly affected by the gate bias polarity and electric field, the oxide thickness, the oxide process history, the temperature during irradiation and subsequent annealing, the silicon substrate orientation and the total dose absorbed (Najim, 2009)
Summary
Depending on the type of semiconductor device and its deployment, it may be exposed to two types of radiation environments which are the exoatmospheric (space) and endoatmospheric (earth) radiation (Guitierrez, 1999). This phenomenon reduced the minority carrier lifetime and leading to a decrease in the current gain of the BJTs. Conclusion: This ionizing radiation effect was found to arouse either a permanent or temporarily damage in the devices depending on their current drives and the Total Ionizing Dose (TID) absorbed. The performance and degradation of selected BJT devices during irradiation with respect to total dose 60Co were presented in this study.
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