Impact of Total Ionizing Dose on Bulk Built-In Current Sensors with Dynamic Storage Cell

Abstract

Integrated circuits operating in space and harsh radiation environments are subject to the progressive accumulation of Total Ionizing Dose (TID), as well as to Single Event Transients (SET) produced by single energetic particles. We designed Bulk Built-In Current Sensors with Dynamic Storage Cell (DynBICS) to detect SET induced by ionizing radiation in NMOS and PMOS transistors. In this work the impact of TID on a complementary pair of DynBICS circuits is studied. The DynBICS were manufactured in IBM 130 nm technology and proved to be resistant to TID effects up to the limit of 600 krad (Si). The total dose reached in the test campaign was 616 krad (Si) from a 60Co gamma source. The ability of the DynBICS to detect SET remained fairly stable, and the impact of the accumulated dose on the performance of the circuit is discussed in detail.