Noise from Neutron Induced Defects in Junction Field Effect Transistors

Neutron damage centers in the depletion region between the gates and channel of a JFET fluctuate in charge and modulate the drain current. Thus, they create noise. The noise from 1012 14.8 MeV neutrons/cm2 is easily measured. Temperature dependence of leakage current indicates a neutron damage generation-recombination level effective at about Ec - 0.5 eV. The noise spectral distribution cannot be adequately characterized by a two state trap with single characteristic lifetimes for the two states.