RADIATION EFFECTS IN HIGH SPEED III-V INTEGRATED CIRCUITS

Abstract

The types of applications affected by radiation effects in III-V devices have significantly changed over the last four decades. For most applications III-V ICs have provided sufficient radiation hardness. Some expectations for hardened soft error applications did not materialize until much later. Years of research defined that not only material properties, but device structures, layout practices and circuit design influenced how III-V devices were susceptible to certain radiation effects. The highest performance III-V ICs due to their low power-speed energy products will provide challenges in ionizing radiation environments from sea level to space.