Effects of high energy neutrons and resulting secondary charged particles on the operation of MOSFETs

Abstract

Study for penetration of nuclear radiation into semiconductor materials had been of theoretical interest and of practical important in these recent years, driven by the scaling down of semiconductor materials. This paper reviews the typical effects occurring in the operation of MOSFETs due to irradiation with neutrons resulting from Deuterium-Tritium (D-T) reaction. Charge trapping features of MOSFETs were investigated by in situ irradiation and post irradiation methods. Analytical explanations and calculations on the numeric change that occurs in the MOSFETs were conducted using a series of simulations. The oxide insulating layer of MOSFET is found to be most sensitive to the neutron radiation. Energy deposition of neutrons in MOSFET occurs via two mechanisms; firstly by trapped charge buildup in the silicon dioxide (SiO 2 ) layer and secondly, an increase in the density of trapping states at the SiO 2 interface. The bombardment of neutron in the MOSFET model produces at least three secondary particles, which are alpha (α) particles, proton (p) particles and silicon recoil atoms, through the reactions of (n,α), (n,p) and neutron scattering respectively. Damage efficiencies of these secondary particles are discussed in direct comparisons.

Threshold Voltage and Drain Current Investigation of Power MOSFET ZVN3320FTA by 2D Simulations

“…They are created due to thermal movements inside the Earth's core which generates a magnetic field, known as a magnetosphere around the earth. Different particles including protons, electrons, and neutrons revolve around these magnetic field lines having different energy and strength [7]. According to [8], one source of radiation in the space are the Van Allen radiation belts, which consist of high energy protons reaching up to energies of 20-80 MeV and electrons reaching an energy level of 20-1000 keV.…”

GaN-Based Readout Circuit System for Reliable Prompt Gamma Imaging in Proton Therapy

“…Most of the ICs mentioned above are designed using bipolar transistors, however, neutrons can also significantly affect the characteristics of the metal oxide semiconductor devices (MOS) [22][23][24]. Neutrons are non-ionizing particles which upon interaction with electronic devices causes displacement damage (DD) or non-ionizing energy loss (NIEL) damage [25].…”

“…The silicon dioxide layer in Metal Oxide Semiconductor Field Effect Transistor (MOSFET) is most sensitive to neutron radiation. Neutron irradiation creates oxide trapped charges and interface traps which affect the characteristics of MOSFET significantly [22,26]. These traps resulted in neutron-induced oxide degradation in MOSFET as observed by Vaidya et al [27].…”

A Model for Neutron Radiation Damage in Metal Oxide Semiconductor (MOS) Structures

“…The neutron radiation damage in the silicon dioxide layers consists of three components: the build-up of trapped charge in the oxide, an increase in the number of interface traps, and an increase in the number of bulk oxide traps [5]. Electrons and holes are created within the silicon dioxide by the ionizing radiation or may be injected into the SiO 2 by internal photoemission from the contacts.…”