Prediction and Measurement of Radiation Damage to CMOS Devices on Board Spacecraft

Abstract

The CMOS Radiation Effects Measurement (CREM) experiment is presently being flown on the Explorer-55. The purpose of the experiment is to evaluate device performance in the actual space radiation environment and to correlate the respective measurements to on-the-ground laboratory irradiation results. The experiment contains an assembly of CMOS and P-MOS devices shielded in front over 2? steradian by flat slabs of aluminum of 40, 80, 150, and 300 mils (1.02, 2.04, 3.81, and 7.62mm) thicknesses, and by a practically infinite shield in the back. This paper presents initial results obtained from the CREM experiment. Predictions of radiation damage to C-MOS devices are based on standard environment models and computational techniques. A comparison of the shifts in CMOS threshold potentials, that is, those measured in space to those obtained from the on-the-ground simulation experiment with Co-60, indicates that the measured space damage is smaller than predicted by about a factor of 2-3 for thin shields (t < 100 mils), but agrees well with predictions for thicker shields. It is not clear at this time how the trapped particle environment models or the computational methods should be modified in order to achieve better agreement between experimental results and predicted damage curves. A subsequent paper will present some considerations along these lines as well as an evaluation of performance of C-MOS devices located in a typical electronic subsystem box within the spacecraft.