Metrics for Comparison Between Displacement Damage due to Ion Beam and Neutron Irradiation in Silicon BJTs

Abstract

We present a series of metrics for comparison between displacement damage due to heavy ion and neutron irradiation in silicon bipolar junction transistors. We have compared ion and fast neutron irradiations to determine an ion-to-neutron damage equivalence. We find that a combination of metrics (damage factor, deep level transient spectroscopy (DLTS) and annealing factor) are needed to ensure a comprehensive understanding of the physics involved in the ion-to-neutron conversion. The linearity of the damage factor (primarily probing the base-emitter junction) is not enough to ensure a valid comparison; rather, we must also use additional techniques (DLTS and capacitance measurements) to ensure that collector compensation is not occurring. As a result, care must be taken in choosing the irradiation beam for ion exposures. The displacement damage should peak in the sensitive region of the device to both ensure maximum gain degradation and to minimize collector compensation.