An investigation into the impact of LET on the Single Event Burnout (SEB) sensitivity of a 3.3 kV PiN diode

High-voltage semiconductor devices are vulnerable to Single Event Burnout (SEB) as a result of interactions with Galactic Cosmic Rays (GCR). SEB is a permanent failure triggered by the passage of a single particle during the turn-off state of the device. This paper investigates SEB in a PiN diode induced by various ions in space through simulation. The Linear Energy Transfer (LET) of the ions studied was determined using SRIM. Additionally, the electrical properties of the device due to irradiation were analyzed using the Silvaco TCAD tool. The key indicator of SEB occurrence is the threshold voltage of SEB (VSEB). Therefore, the correlation between the ion’s LET and VSEB was investigated. The results indicate that the most sensitive region is in the middle of the device, and SEB is caused by avalanche multiplication of ion-generated carriers. It was also observed that the VSEB decreased from 3200 V to 2100 V; as the LET increased from 0.19 to 58 MeV.cm2.mg-1 for He and Ta, respectively. Consequently, ions with higher LET values can cause the device to burnout at a lower VSEB level, increasing the device’s sensitivity to SEB.