Impact of Terrestrial Neutrons on the Reliability of SiC VD-MOSFET Technologies

2021

Accelerated terrestrial neutron irradiations were performed on different commercial SiC power MOSFETs with planar, trench and double-trench architectures. The results were used to calculate the failure cross-sections and the failure in time (FIT) rates at sea level. Enhanced gate and drain leakage were observed in some devices which did not exhibit a destructive failure during the exposure. In particular, a different mechanism was observed for planar and trench gate MOSFETs, the first showing a partial gate rupture with a leakage path mostly between drain and gate, similar to what was previously observed with heavy-ions, while the second exhibiting a complete gate rupture. The observed fail…

Dynamic Test Methods for COTS SRAMs

2014

International audience; In previous works, we have demonstrated the importance of dynamic mode testing of SRAM components under ionizing radiation. Several types of failures are difficult to expose when the device is tested under static (retention) mode. With the purpose of exploring and defining the most complete testing procedures and reveal the potential hazardous behaviors of SRAM devices, we present novel methods for the dynamic mode radiation testing of SRAMs. The proposed methods are based on different word address accessing schemes and data background: Fast Row, Fast Column, Pseudorandom, Adjacent (Gray) and Inverse Adjacent (Gray). These methods are evaluated by heavy ion and atmos…

Heavy-Ion Radiation Impact on a 4Mb FRAM under Different Test Conditions

2015

The impact of heavy-ions on commercial Ferroelectric Memories (FRAMs) is analyzed. The influence of different test modes (static and dynamic) on this memory is investigated. Static test results show that the memory is prone to temporary effects occurring in the peripheral circuitry. Dynamic tests results show a high sensitivity of this memory to heavy-ions.

Mechanisms of Electron-Induced Single-Event Upsets in Medical and Experimental Linacs

2018

In this paper, we perform an in-depth analysis of the single-event effects observed during testing at medical electron linacs and an experimental high-energy electron linac. For electron irradiations, the medical linacs are most commonly used due to their availability and flexibility. Whereas previous efforts were made to characterize the cross sections at higher energies, where the nuclear interaction cross section is higher, the focus of this paper is on the complete overview of relevant electron energies. Irradiations at an electron linac were made with two different devices, with a large difference in feature size. The irradiations at an experimental linac were performed with varying en…

Mechanisms of Electron-Induced Single-Event Latchup

2019

In this paper, possible mechanisms by which electrons can induce single-event latchups in electronics are discussed. The energy deposition and the nuclear fragments created by electrons in silicon are analyzed in this context. The cross section enhancement effect in the presence of high-Z materials is discussed. First experimental results of electron-induced latchups are shown in static random access memory devices with low linear energy transfer thresholds. The radiation hardness assurance implications and future work are discussed.

Isotopic Enriched and Natural SiC Junction Barrier Schottky Diodes Under Heavy Ion Irradiation

2022

The radiation tolerance of isotopic enriched and natural silicon carbide junction barrier Schottky diodes are compared under heavy ion irradiation. Both types of devices experience leakage current degradation as well as single-event burnout events. The results were comparable, although the data may indicate a marginally lower thresholds for the isotopic enriched devices at lower linear energy transfer (LET). Slightly higher reverse bias threshold values for leakage current degradation were also observed compared to previously published work.

Heavy-Ion-Induced Degradation in SiC Schottky Diodes : Incident Angle and Energy Deposition Dependence

2017

International audience; Heavy-ion-induced degradation in the reverse leakage current of SiC Schottky power diodes exhibits a strong dependence on the ion angle of incidence. This effect is studied experimentally for several different bias voltages applied during heavy-ion exposure. In addition, TCAD simulations are used to give insight on the physical mechanisms involved.

Semi-Empirical Model for SEGR Prediction

2013

The underlying physical mechanisms in single event gate rupture (SEGR) are not known precisely. SEGR is expected to occur when the energy deposition due to a heavy ion strike exceeds a certain threshold simultaneously with sufficient electric field across the gate dielectric. Typically the energy deposition is described by using the linear energy transfer (LET) of the given ion. Previously the LET has been demonstrated not to describe the SEGR sufficiently. The work presented here introduces a semi-empirical model for the SEGR prediction based on statistical variations in the energy deposition which are described theoretically.

Assessment of Proton Direct Ionization for the Radiation Hardness Assurance of Deep Submicron SRAMs Used in Space Applications

2021

Proton direct ionization from low-energy protons has been shown to have a potentially significant impact on the accuracy of prediction methods used to calculate the upset rates of memory devices in space applications for state-of-the-art deep sub-micron technologies. The general approach nowadays is to consider a safety margin to apply over the upset rate computed from high-energy proton and heavy ion experimental data. The data reported here present a challenge to this approach. Different upset rate prediction methods are used and compared in order to establish the impact of proton direct ionization on the total upset rate. No matter the method employed the findings suggest that proton dir…

Direct Ionization Impact on Accelerator Mixed-Field Soft-Error Rate

2020

We investigate, through measurements and simulations, the possible direct ionization impact on the accelerator soft-error rate (SER), not considered in standard qualification approaches. Results show that, for a broad variety of state-of-the-art commercial components considered in the 65-16-nm technological range, indirect ionization is still expected to dominate the overall SER in the accelerator mixed-field. However, the derived critical charges of the most sensitive parts, corresponding to ~0.7 fC, are expected to be at the limit of rapid direct ionization dominance and soft-error increase.

Statistical Analysis of Heavy-Ion Induced Gate Rupture in Power MOSFETs—Methodology for Radiation Hardness Assurance

2012

A methodology for power MOSFET radiation hardness assurance is proposed. It is based on the statistical analysis of destructive events, such as gate oxide rupture. Examples of failure rate calculations are performed.

Heavy-Ion Radiation Impact on a 4 Mb FRAM Under Different Test Modes and Conditions

2016

International audience; The impact of heavy-ions on commercial Ferroelectric Memories (FRAMs) is analyzed. The influence of dynamic and static test modes as well as several stimuli on the error rate of this memory is investigated. Static test results show that the memory is prone to temporary effects occurring in the peripheral circuitry, with a possible effect due to fluence. Dynamic tests results show a high sensitivity of this memory to switching activity of this peripheral circuitry.

Experimental Linear Energy Transfer of Heavy Ions in Silicon for RADEF Cocktail Species

2009

Experimental linear energy transfer values of heavy ions in silicon are presented with comparison to estimations from different semi empirical codes widely used among the community. This paper completes the experimental LET data for the RADEF cocktail ions in silicon.

SEGR in SiO<inf>2</inf>-Si<inf>3</inf>N<inf>4</inf> stacks

2013

A simple expression for electronic stopping force of heavy ions in solids

2012

Abstract A simple expression for the electronic stopping force of heavy ions in solids is proposed based on an adaption of the Bohr’s classical stopping theory. A three-parameter model is constructed by using experimental data for helium, oxygen, argon, krypton and xenon ions in carbon, aluminum, nickel and gold targets at energies from 600 eV/u to 985 MeV/u. Total average agreements between the model and used experimental data are (−4.5 ± 47)% and (−1.6 ± 7.4)% at energies below and above the Bragg peak, respectively. The good overall agreement makes this model a good candidate for future development in stopping force prediction tools.

Incident angle effect on heavy ion induced reverse leakage current in SiC Schottky diodes

2016

Heavy-ion induced degradation in the reverse leakage current of SiC Schottky power diodes shows distinct dependence on the angle of incidence. TCAD simulations have been used to study the physical mechanisms involved.

Heavy Ion Induced Degradation in SiC Schottky Diodes : Bias and Energy Deposition Dependence

2017

Experimental results on ion-induced leakage current increase in 4H-SiC Schottky power diodes are presented. Monte Carlo and TCAD simulations show that degradation is due to the synergy between applied bias and ion energy deposition. This degradation is possibly related to thermal spot annealing at the metal semiconductor interface. This thermal annealing leads to an inhomogeneity of the Schottky barrier that could be responsible for the increase leakage current as a function of fluence. peerReviewed

Failure Estimates for SiC Power MOSFETs in Space Electronics

2018

Silicon carbide (SiC) power metal-oxide-semiconductor field effect transistors (MOSFETs) are space-ready in terms of typical reliability measures. However, single event burnout (SEB) due to heavy-ion irradiation often occurs at voltages 50% or lower than specified breakdown. Failure rates in space are estimated for burnout of 1200 V devices based on the experimental data for burnout and the expected heavy-ion linear energy transfer (LET) spectrum in space. peerReviewed

Microbeam SEE Analysis of MIM Capacitors for GaN Amplifiers

2018

Broad-beam and microbeam single-event effect tests were performed on metal–insulator–metal capacitors with three different thicknesses of silicon nitride (Si3N4) dielectric insulator: 250, 500, and 750 nm. The broad-beam tests indicated that the devices with the thicker, 500- and 750-nm dielectric did not have a greater breakdown voltage. The surrounding structures of the capacitor were suspected to be a possible cause. Microbeam techniques made it possible to localize the failure location for the 500- and 750-nm devices. The failure occurs in the air bridge structure connected to the top capacitor plate, which can therefore be considered as an edge effect, while for the 250-nm devices, the…

Heavy-Ion-Induced Defects in Degraded SiC Power MOSFETs

2023

Cathodoluminescence spectroscopy is used to investigate the formation of point- and extended defects in SiC power MOSFETs exposed to heavy-ions. Devices showing single event leakage current (SELC) effects are analysed and compared to pristine samples. Common luminescence peaks of defect centers localized in the thermal-SiO2 are identified, together with peaks at the characteristic wavelength of extended defects.

Parasitic Bipolar Action in SiC Power MOSFETs Demonstrated by Two-Photon Laser Experiment

2018

A two-photon absorption technique is explored for Silicon carbide power MOSFETs and power junction barrier Schottky diodes using a pulsed laser. The similarities in design between the specific MOSFETs and diodes tested permit using mechanisms existing in the different structures as explanation for observed current variation with laser position. The diode shows variation in average current with change in laser depth only, whereas the MOSFET shows variation both with shifts in depth and shifts in position across the striped geometry of the device. The variation is explained to be due to bipolar amplification of the charge carriers generated in the MOSFET when a pulse focus includes a channel …

Radiation Hardness Assurance Through System-Level Testing: Risk Acceptance, Facility Requirements, Test Methodology, and Data Exploitation

2021

International audience; Functional verification schemes at a level different from component-level testing are emerging as a cost-effective tool for those space systems for which the risk associated with a lower level of assurance can be accepted. Despite the promising potential, system-level radiation testing can be applied to the functional verification of systems under restricted intrinsic boundaries. Most of them are related to the use of hadrons as opposed to heavy ions. Hadrons are preferred for the irradiation of any bulky system, in general, because of their deeper penetration capabilities. General guidelines about the test preparation and procedure for a high-level radiation test ar…

SEU characterization of commercial and custom-designed SRAMs based on 90 nm technology and below

2020

International audience; The R2E project at CERN has tested a few commercial SRAMs and a custom-designed SRAM, whose data are complementary to various scientific publications. The experimental data include low- and high-energy protons, heavy ions, thermal, intermediate- and high-energy neutrons, high-energy electrons and high-energy pions.

Enhanced Charge Collection in SiC Power MOSFETs Demonstrated by Pulse-Laser Two-Photon Absorption SEE Experiments

2019

A two-photon absorption technique is used to understand the mechanisms of single-event effects (SEEs) in silicon carbide power metal–oxide–field-effect transistors (MOSFETs) and power junction barrier Schottky diodes. The MOSFETs and diodes have similar structures enabling the identification of effects associated specifically with the parasitic bipolar structure that is present in the MOSFETs, but not the diodes. The collected charge in the diodes varies only with laser depth, whereas it varies with depth and lateral position in the MOSFETs. Optical simulations demonstrate that the variations in collected charge observed are from the semiconductor device structure and not from metal/passiva…

SEGR in SiO${}_2$–Si$_3$N$_4$ Stacks

2014

Abstract. This work presents experimental Single Event Gate Rupture (SEGR) data for Metal–Insulator–Semiconductor (MIS) devices, where the gate dielectrics are made of stacked SiO2–Si3N4 structures. A semi-empirical model for predicting the critical gate voltage in these structures under heavy-ion exposure is first proposed. Then interrelationship between SEGR cross- section and heavy-ion induced energy deposition probability in thin dielectric layers is discussed. Qualitative connection between the energy deposition in the dielectric and the SEGR is proposed. peerReviewed

Unifying Concepts for Ion-Induced Leakage Current Degradation in Silicon Carbide Schottky Power Diodes

2020

The onset of ion-induced reverse leakage current in SiC Schottky diodes is shown to depend on material properties, ion linear energy transfer (LET), and bias during irradiation, but not the voltage rating of the parts. This is demonstrated experimentally for devices from multiple manufacturers with voltage ratings from 600 to 1700 V. Using a device with a higher breakdown voltage than required in the application does not provide increased robustness related to leakage current degradation, compared to using a device with a lower voltage rating.

Molecular dynamics simulations of heavy ion induced defects in SiC Schottky diodes

2018

Heavy ion irradiation increases the leakage current in reverse-biased SiC Schottky diodes. This letter demonstrates, via molecular dynamics simulations, that a combination of bias and ion-deposited energy is required to produce the degradation. Peer reviewed

Application and development of ion-source technology for radiation-effects testing of electronics

2017

Abstract Studies of heavy-ion induced single event effect (SEE) on space electronics are necessary to verify the operation of the components in the harsh radiation environment. These studies are conducted by using high-energy heavy-ion beams to simulate the radiation effects in space. The ion beams are accelerated as so-called ion cocktails, containing several ion beam species with similar mass-to-charge ratio, covering a wide range of linear energy transfer (LET) values also present in space. The use of cocktails enables fast switching between beam species during testing. Production of these high-energy ion cocktails poses challenging requirements to the ion sources because in most laborat…

Heavy-Ion Microbeam Studies of Single-Event Leakage Current Mechanism in SiC VD-MOSFETs

2020

Heavy-ion microbeams are employed for probing the radiation-sensitive regions in commercial silicon carbide (SiC) vertical double-diffused power (VD)-MOSFETs with micrometer accuracy. By scanning the beam spot over the die, a spatial periodicity was observed in the leakage current degradation, reflecting the striped structure of the power MOSFET investigated. Two different mechanisms were observed for degradation. At low drain bias (gate and source grounded), only the gate-oxide (at the JFET or neck region) is contributing in the ion-induced leakage current. For exposures at drain–source bias voltages higher than a specific threshold, additional higher drain leakage current is observed in t…

A Methodology for the Analysis of Memory Response to Radiation through Bitmap Superposition and Slicing

2015

A methodology is proposed for the statistical analysis of memory radiation test data, with the aim of identifying trends in the single-even upset (SEU) distribution. The treated case study is a 65nm SRAM irradiated with neutrons, protons and heavy-ions.

Radioluminescence Response of Ce-, Cu-, and Gd-Doped Silica Glasses for Dosimetry of Pulsed Electron Beams

2021

Radiation-induced emission of doped sol-gel silica glass samples was investigated under a pulsed 20-MeV electron beam. The studied samples were drawn rods doped with cerium, copper, or gadolinium ions, which were connected to multimode pure-silica core fibers to transport the induced luminescence from the irradiation area to a signal readout system. The luminescence pulses in the samples induced by the electron bunches were studied as a function of deposited dose per electron bunch. All the investigated samples were found to have a linear response in terms of luminescence as a function of electron bunch sizes between 10−5 Gy/bunch and 1.5×10−2 Gy/bunch. The presented results show that these…

Estimating Terrestrial Neutron-Induced SEB Cross-Sections and FIT Rates for High-Voltage SiC Power MOSFETs

2019

Cross sections and failure in time rates for neutron-induced single-event burnout (SEB) are estimated for SiC power MOSFETs using a method based on combining results from heavy ion SEB experimental data, 3-D TCAD prediction of sensitive volumes, and Monte Carlo radiation transport simulations of secondary particle production. The results agree well with experimental data and are useful in understanding the mechanisms for neutron-induced SEB data.

Charge Transport Mechanisms in Heavy-Ion Driven Leakage Current in Silicon Carbide Schottky Power Diodes

2016

Under heavy-ion exposure at sufficiently high reverse bias voltages silicon carbide (SiC) Schottky diodes are observed to exhibit gradual increases in leakage current with increasing ion fluence. Heavy-ion exposure alters the overall reverse current-voltage characteristics of these diodes, leaving the forward characteristics practically unchanged. This paper discusses the charge transport mechanisms in the heavy-ion damaged SiC Schottky diodes. A macro model, describing the reverse current-voltage characteristics in the degraded SiC Schottky diodes is proposed. peerReviewed

Properties of Gd-Doped Sol-Gel Silica Glass Radioluminescence under Electron Beams

2022

International audience; The radiation-induced emission (RIE) of Gd3+-doped sol–gel silica glass has been shown to have suitable properties for use in the dosimetry of beams of ionizing radiation in applications such as radiotherapy. Linear electron accelerators are commonly used as clinical radiotherapy beams, and in this paper, the RIE properties were investigated under electron irradiation. A monochromator setup was used to investigate the light properties in selected narrow wavelength regions, and a spectrometer setup was used to measure the optical emission spectra in various test configurations. The RIE output as a function of depth in acrylic was measured and compared with a reference…

Single-Event Burnout Mechanisms in SiC Power MOSFETs

2018

Heavy ion-induced single-event burnout (SEB) is investigated in high-voltage silicon carbide power MOSFETs. Experimental data for 1200-V SiC power MOSFETs show a significant decrease in SEB onset voltage for particle linear energy transfers greater than 10 MeV/cm 2 /mg, above which the SEB threshold voltage is nearly constant at half of the rated maximum operating voltage for these devices. TCAD simulations show a parasitic bipolar junction transistor turn-on mechanism, which drives the avalanching of carriers and leads to runaway drain current, resulting in SEB. peerReviewed

Heavy-Ion Induced Charge Yield in MOSFETs

2009

The heavy-ion induced electron/hole charge yield in silicon-oxide versus electric field is presented. The heavy-ion charge yield was determined by comparing the voltage shifts of MOSFET transistors irradiated with 10-keV X-rays and several different heavy ions. The obtained charge yield for the heavy ions is in average nearly an order of magnitude lower than for the X-rays for the entire range of measured electric fields.

The first experimental values for the stopping power of 89Y ions in carbon, nickel and gold

2009

Abstract The stopping power values of 89 Y ions in carbon, nickel and gold were measured with accuracy to better than 5% in the energy range from 0.03 to 8.2 MeV/u. The newly developed B-TOF method was used for the measurements. The results are compared with theoretical and semi-empirical predictions. For this ion/absorber combination no prior experimental data are available.

Energy loss measurement of protons in liquid water

2011

The proton stopping power of liquid water was, for the first time, measured in the energy range 4.7-15.2 MeV. The proton energies were determined by the time-of-flight transmission technique with the microchannel plate detectors, which were especially developed for timing applications. The results are compared to the literature values (from ICRU Report 49 (1993) and Janni's tabulation (1982 At. Data Nucl. Data Tables 27 147-339)) which are based on Bethe's formula and an agreement is found within the experimental uncertainty of 4.6%. Thus, earlier reported discrepancy between the experimental and literature stopping power values at lower energies was not observed at the energies considered …

Ion-Induced Energy Pulse Mechanism for Single-Event Burnout in High-Voltage SiC Power MOSFETs and Junction Barrier Schottky Diodes

2020

Heavy-ion data suggest that a common mechanism is responsible for single-event burnout (SEB) in 1200-V power MOSFETs and junction barrier Schottky (JBS) diodes. Similarly, heavy-ion data suggest a common mechanism is also responsible for leakage current degradation in both devices. This mechanism, based on ion-induced, highly localized energy pulses, is demonstrated in simulations and shown to be capable of causing degradation and SEB for both the MOSFETs and JBS diodes.

SEE on Different Layers of Stacked-SRAMs

2015

International audience; This paper presents heavy-ion and proton radiation test results of a 90 nm COTS SRAM with stacked structure. Radiation tests were made using high penetration heavy-ion cocktails at the HIF (Belgium) and at RADEF (Finland) as well as low energy protons at RADEF. The heavy-ion SEU cross-section showed an unusual profile with a peak at the lowest LET (heavy-ion with the highest penetration range). The discrepancy is due to the fact that the SRAM is constituted of two vertically stacked dice. The impact of proton testing on the response of both stacked dice is presented. The results are discussed and the SEU cross-sections of the upper and lower layers are compared. The …

Heavy-ion induced single event effects and latent damages in SiC power MOSFETs

2022

The advantages of silicon carbide (SiC) power MOSFETs make this technology attractive for space, avionics and high-energy accelerator applications. However, the current commercial technologies are still susceptible to Single Event Effects (SEEs) and latent damages induced by the radiation environment. Two types of latent damage were experimentally observed in commercial SiC power MOSFETs exposed to heavy-ions. One is observed at bias voltages just below the degradation onset and it involves the gate oxide. The other damage type is observed at bias voltages below the Single Event Burnout (SEB) limit, and it is attributed to alterations of the SiC crystal-lattice. Focused ion beam (FIB) and s…

Impact of Electrical Stress and Neutron Irradiation on Reliability of Silicon Carbide Power MOSFET

2020

International audience; The combined effects of electrical stress and neutron irradiation of the last generation of commercial discrete silicon carbide power MOSFETs are studied. The single-event burnout (SEB) sensitivity during neutron irradiation is analyzed for unstressed and electrically stressed devices. For surviving devices, a comprehensive study of the breakdown voltage degradation is performed by coupling the electrical stress and irradiation effects. In addition, mutual influences between electrical stress and radiative constraints are investigated through TCAD modeling.

Single-Event Effects in the Peripheral Circuitry of a Commercial Ferroelectric Random Access Memory

2018

International audience; This paper identifies the failure modes of a commercial 130-nm ferroelectric random access memory. The devices were irradiated with heavy-ion and pulsed focused X-ray beams. Various failure modes are observed, which generate characteristic error patterns, affecting isolated bits, words, groups of pages, and sometimes entire regions of the memory array. The underlying mechanisms are discussed.

Investigation on MCU Clustering Methodologies for Cross-Section Estimation of RAMs

2015

International audience; Various failure scenarios may occur during irradiation testing of SRAMs, which may generate different characteristic Multiple Cell Upset (MCU) error patterns. This work proposes a method based on spatial and temporal criteria to identify them.

Mechanisms of Electron-Induced Single Event Upsets in Medical and Experimental Linacs

2018

In this paper, we perform an in-depth analysis of the single-event effects observed during testing at medical electron linacs and an experimental high-energy electron linac. For electron irradiations, the medical linacs are most commonly used due to their availability and flexibility. Whereas previous efforts were made to characterize the cross sections at higher energies, where the nuclear interaction cross section is higher, the focus of this paper is on the complete overview of relevant electron energies. Irradiations at an electron linac were made with two different devices, with a large difference in feature size. The irradiations at an experimental linac were performed with varying en…

The pion single-event latch-up cross-section enhancement : mechanisms and consequences for accelerator hardness assurance

2021

Pions make up a large part of the hadronic environment typical of accelerator mixed-fields. Characterizing device cross-sections against pions is usually disregarded in favour of tests with protons, whose single-event latch-up cross-section is, nonetheless, experimentally found to be lower than that of pions for all energies below 250 MeV. While Monte-Carlo simulations are capable of reproducing such behavior, the reason of the observed pion cross-section enhancement can only be explained by a deeper analysis of the underlying mechanisms dominating proton-silicon and pion-silicon reactions. The mechanisms dominating the single-event latchup response are found to vary with the energy under c…

Particle radiation in microelectronics

2012

The unavoidable presence of particle radiation in space and on the ground combined with constantly evolving technology necessitates a deep understanding of the basic mechanisms underlying radiation effects in materials and electronic devices. This thesis provides an overview of the different radiation environments, with a review of the interaction mechanisms between energetic particles and matter. In this work a new semi-empirical model for estimating the electronic stopping force of solids for heavy ions is introduced. Radiation effects occurring in microelectronics due to particle radiation are also discussed with a brief introduction to radiation hardness assurance (RHA) testing of elect…

Single Event Burnout of SiC Junction Barrier Schottky Diode High-Voltage Power Devices

2018

Ion-induced degradation and catastrophic failures in high-voltage SiC Junction Barrier Schottky (JBS) power diodes are investigated. Experimental results agree with earlier data showing discrete jumps in leakage current for individual ions, and show that the boundary between leakage current degradation and a single-event-burnout-like effect is a strong function of LET and reverse bias. TCAD simulations show high localized electric fields under the Schottky junction, and high temperatures generated directly under the Schottky contact, consistent with the hypothesis that the ion energy causes eutectic-like intermixture at the metal- semiconductor interface or localized melting of the silicon …

Proton Direct Ionization in Sub-Micron Technologies : Test Methodologies and Modelling

2023

Two different low energy proton (LEP) test methods, one with quasi-monoenergetic and the other with very wide proton beam energy spectra, have been studied. The two test methodologies have been applied to devices that were suggested from prior heavy-ion tests to be sensitive to proton direct ionization (PDI). The advantages and disadvantages of the two test methods are discussed. The test method using quasi-monoenergetic beams requires device preparation and high energy resolution beams, but delivers results that can be interpreted directly and can be used in various soft error rate (SER) calculation methods. The other method, using a heavily degraded high energy proton beam, requires littl…

Mechanisms of Electron-Induced Single Event Latchup

2019

In this paper, possible mechanisms by which electrons can induce single-event latchups in electronics are discussed. The energy deposition and the nuclear fragments created by electrons in silicon are analyzed in this context. The cross section enhancement effect in the presence of high-Z materials is discussed. First experimental results of electron-induced latchups are shown in static random access memory devices with low linear energy transfer thresholds. The radiation hardness assurance implications and future work are discussed. peerReviewed

Low-Power, Subthreshold Reference Circuits for the Space Environment : Evaluated with -rays, X-rays, Protons and Heavy Ions

2019

The radiation tolerance of subthreshold reference circuits for space microelectronics is presented. The assessment is supported by measured results of total ionization dose and single event transient radiation-induced effects under &gamma

The Pion Single-Event Effect Resonance and its Impact in an Accelerator Environment

2020

International audience; The pion resonance in the nuclear reaction cross section is seen to have a direct impact on the single-event effect (SEE) cross section of modern electronic devices. This was experimentally observed for single-event upsets and single-event latchup. Rectangular parallelepiped (RPP) models built to fit proton data confirm the existence of the pion SEE cross-section resonance. The impact on current radiation hardness assurance (RHA) soft error rate (SER) predictions is, however, minimal for the accelerator environment since this is dominated by high neutron fluxes. The resonance is not seen to have a major impact on the high-energy hadron equivalence approximation estab…

Upgrades for the RADEF Facility

2007

RADEF includes heavy ion and proton beam lines for irradiation of space electronics. A special beam cocktail for back side irradiations has been developed. Also, experimental LET values of its two heaviest ions have been determined.

Heavy-Ion-Induced Degradation in SiC Schottky Diodes : Incident Angle and Energy Deposition Dependence

2017

Heavy-ion-induced degradation in the reverse leakage current of SiC Schottky power diodes exhibits a strong dependence on the ion angle of incidence. This effect is studied experimentally for several different bias voltages applied during heavy-ion exposure. In addition, TCAD simulations are used to give insight on the physical mechanisms involved. peerReviewed

Influence of beam conditions and energy for SEE testing

2012

GANIL/Applications industrielles; The effects of heavy-ion test conditions and beam energy on device response are investigated. These effects are illustrated with two types of test vehicles: SRAMs and power MOSFETs. In addition, GEANT4 simulations have also been performed to better understand the results. Testing to high fluence levels is required to detect rare events. This increases the probability of nuclear interactions. This is typically the case for power MOSFETs, which are tested at high fluences for single event burnout or gate rupture detection, and for single-event-upset (SEU) measurement in SRAMs below the direct ionization threshold. Differences between various test conditions (…

Electron-Induced Upsets and Stuck Bits in SDRAMs in the Jovian Environment

2021

This study investigates the response of synchronous dynamic random access memories to energetic electrons and especially the possibility of electrons to cause stuck bits in these memories. Three different memories with different node sizes (63, 72, and 110 nm) were tested. Electrons with energies between 6 and 200 MeV were used at RADiation Effects Facility (RADEF) in Jyvaskyla, Finland, and at Very energetic Electron facility for Space Planetary Exploration missions in harsh Radiative environments (VESPER) in The European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), Switzerland. Photon irradiation was also performed in Jyvaskyla. In these irradiation tests, stuck bits originating from electro…

The Pion Single-Event Latch-Up Cross Section Enhancement: Mechanisms and Consequences for Accelerator Hardness Assurance

2021

Pions make up a large part of the hadronic environment typical of accelerator mixed fields. Characterizing device cross sections against pions is usually disregarded in favor of tests with protons, whose single-event latch-up (SEL) cross section is, nonetheless, experimentally found to be lower than that of pions for all energies below 250 MeV. While Monte Carlo simulations are capable of reproducing such behavior, the reason for the observed pion cross-section enhancement can only be explained by a deeper analysis of the underlying mechanisms dominating proton–silicon and pion–silicon reactions. The mechanisms dominating the SEL response are found to vary with the energy under consideratio…

Current Transport Mechanism for Heavy-Ion Degraded SiC MOSFETs

2019

IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science, 66 (7)

Proton Direct Ionization in Sub-Micron Technologies: Numerical Method for RPP Parameter Extraction

2022

This work introduces a numerical method to iteratively extract parameters of a rectangular parallelepiped (RPP) sensitive volume (SV) from experimental proton direct ionization SEU data. The method combines two separate numerical models. The first model estimates the average LET values for energetic ions, including protons and also heavy ions, in elemental solid targets. The second model describes the statistical variance in the energy deposition events of projectile-induced primary ionization within a RPP shaped target volume. To benchmark the method, simulated cross-section values based on RPP parameters derived with this method are compared with literature data from four SRAM devices. Th…

Single-Event Effects in the Peripheral Circuitry of a Commercial Ferroelectric Random-Access Memory

2018

This paper identifies the failure modes of a commercial 130-nm ferroelectric random access memory. The devices were irradiated with heavy-ion and pulsed focused X-ray beams. Various failure modes are observed, which generate characteristic error patterns, affecting isolated bits, words, groups of pages, and sometimes entire regions of the memory array. The underlying mechanisms are discussed. peerReviewed

Low Energy Protons at RADEF - Application to Advanced eSRAMs

2014

A low energy proton facility has been developed at RADEF, Jyvskyl, Finland. The proton energy selection, calibration and dosimetry are described. The first experiment with external users was performed using two memory test vehicles fabricated with 28 nm technology. Examples of single event upset measurements in the test vehicles embedded SRAMs (eSRAMs) as a function of proton energy are provided.

Methodologies for the Statistical Analysis of Memory Response to Radiation

2016

International audience; Methodologies are proposed for in-depth statistical analysis of Single Event Upset data. The motivation for using these methodologies is to obtain precise information on the intrinsic defects and weaknesses of the tested devices, and to gain insight on their failure mechanisms, at no additional cost. The case study is a 65 nm SRAM irradiated with neutrons, protons and heavy ions. This publication is an extended version of a previous study.

Proton Direct Ionization Upsets at Tens of MeV

2023

Experimental monoenergetic proton single-event upset (SEU) cross sections of a 65-nm low core-voltage static random access memory (SRAM) were found to be exceptionally high not only at low energies ($ 3 MeV and extending up to tens of MeV. The SEU cross Section from 20-MeV protons exceeds the 200-MeV proton SEU cross Section by almost a factor of 3. Similarly, monoenergetic neutron cross sections at 14 MeV are about a factor of 3 lower than the 20-MeV proton cross section. Because of Monte Carlo (MC) simulations, it was determined that this strong enhancement is due to the proton direct ionization process as opposed to the elastic and inelastic scattering processes that dominate the SEU res…

Estimating Terrestrial Neutron-Induced SEB Cross-Sections and FIT Rates for High-Voltage SiC Power MOSFETs

2019

Cross sections and failure in time rates for neutron-induced single-event burnout (SEB) are estimated for SiC power MOSFETs using a method based on combining results from heavy ion SEB experimental data, 3-D TCAD prediction of sensitive volumes, and Monte Carlo radiation transport simulations of secondary particle production. The results agree well with experimental data and are useful in understanding the mechanisms for neutron-induced SEB data. peerReviewed

Molecular dynamics simulations of heavy ion induced defects in SiC Schottky diodes

2018

Heavy ion irradiation increases the leakage current in reverse-biased SiC Schottky diodes. This work demonstrates, via molecular dynamics simulations, that a combination of bias and ion-deposited energy is required to produce the degradation peerReviewed