Title :
Comparison of photocurrent enhancement and upset enhancement in CMOS devices in a medium-energy X-ray environment
Author :
Beutler, D.E. ; Beezhold, W. ; Browning, J.S. ; Fleetwood, D.M. ; Counts, N.E. ; Knott, D.P. ; Freshman, C.L. ; Conners, M.P.
Author_Institution :
Sandia Nat. Lab., Albuquerque, NM, USA
fDate :
8/1/1990 12:00:00 AM
Abstract :
Radiation-induced upset levels in SA3001 static random access memories (SRAMs) and SA3246 clock integrated circuits (ICs) have been measured in a medium-energy flash X-ray environment (average photon energy ~100 keV), where dose-enhancing effects are very important. By comparing device responses using a non-dose-enhancing ceramic package lid and a dose-enhancing Kovar/gold lid, dose-enhancement factors for photocurrent and upset were generated. The observed upset enhancement factors of 3.0±0.5 (SRAM) and 2.2±0.2 (clock IC) are in excellent agreement with measurements of photocurrent enhancement factors (2.5±0.5) in diodes processed with the same diffusions as the complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) ICs irradiated in a steady-state X-ray environment. These results indicate that upset is dominated by the radiation-induced transient supply current in these ICs, and that steady-state diode photocurrent measurements are a good predictor of both photocurrent and upset enhancement for ICs made with this technology
Keywords :
CMOS integrated circuits; X-ray effects; clocks; digital integrated circuits; random-access storage; 100 keV; Au; CMOS devices; Kovar/Au lid; SA3001 static random access memories; SA3246 clock integrated circuits; ceramic package lid; dose-enhancing effects; medium-energy X-ray; photocurrent enhancement; radiation-induced transient supply current; upset enhancement; Ceramics; Clocks; Diodes; Energy measurement; Integrated circuit measurements; Integrated circuit packaging; Photoconductivity; Photonic integrated circuits; SRAM chips; Steady-state;
Journal_Title :
Nuclear Science, IEEE Transactions on
