0000000001265614

AUTHOR

A. Javanainen

Proton irradiation-induced reliability degradation of SiC power MOSFET

The effect of 53 MeV proton irradiation on the reliability of silicon carbide power MOSFETs was investigated. Post-irradiation gate voltage stress was applied and early failures in time-dependent dielectric breakdown (TDDB) test were observed for irradiated devices. The applied drain voltage during irradiation affects the degradation probability observed by TDDB tests. Proton-induced single event burnouts (SEB) were observed for devices which were biased close to their maximum rated voltage. The secondary particle production as a result of primary proton interaction with the device material was simulated with the Geant4-based toolkit. peerReviewed

research product

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

Heavy ion data suggest that a common mechanism is responsible for single-event burnout in 1200 V power MOSFETs and junction barrier Schottky 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, highlylocalized energy pulses, is demonstrated in simulations and shown to be capable of causing degradation and singleevent burnout for both the MOSFETs and JBS diodes. peerReviewed

research product

Single Event Transients and Pulse Quenching Effects in Bandgap Reference Topologies for Space Applications

An architectural performance comparison of bandgap voltage reference variants, designed in a $0.18~\mu \text {m}$ CMOS process, is performed with respect to single event transients. These are commonly induced in microelectronics in the space radiation environment. Heavy ion tests (Silicon, Krypton, Xenon) are used to explore the analog single-event transients and have revealed pulse quenching mechanisms in analogue circuits. The different topologies are compared, in terms of cross-section, pulse duration and pulse amplitude. The measured results, and the explanations behind the findings, reveal important guidelines for designing analog integrated circuits, which are intended for space appli…

research product

Effect of 20 MeV Electron Radiation on Long Term Reliability of SiC Power MOSFETs

The effect of 20 MeV electron radiation on the lifetime of the silicon carbide power MOSFETs was investigated. Accelerated constant voltage stress (CVS) was applied on the pristine and irradiated devices and time-to-breakdown ( T BD ) and charge-to-breakdown ( Q BD ) of gate oxide were extracted and compared. The effect of electron radiation on the device lifetime reduction can be observed at lower stress gate-to-source voltage ( V GS ) levels. The models of T BD and Q BD dependence on the initial gate current ( I G0 ) are proposed which can be used to describe the device breakdown behaviour. peerReviewed

research product

Direct Ionization Impact on Accelerator Mixed-Field Soft Error Rate

We investigate, through measurements and simulations, the possible direct ionization impact in the accelerator soft error rate, not considered in standard qualification approaches. Results show that, for a broad variety of state-of-the art commercial components considered in the 65 nm to 16 nm technological range, indirect ionization is still expected to dominate the overall soft-error rate 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. peerReviewed

research product

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

The onset of ion-induced reverse leakage current in SiC Schottky diodes is shown to depend on material properties, ion 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 V 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. peerReviewed

research product

A subthreshold, low-power, RHBD reference circuit, for earth observation and communication satellites

A low-power, wide temperature range, radiation tolerant CMOS voltage reference is presented. The proposed reference circuit exhibits a voltage deviation of 0.8mV for 3-MeV protons total ionization dose of 2Mrad and a voltage deviation of 3.8mV for 10-keV X-rays total ionization dose of 4Mrad while being biased at the nominal supply voltage of 0.75V during X-ray irradiation. In addition, the circuit consumes only 4μW and exhibits a measured Temperature Drift of 15ppm/°C for a temperature range of 190°C (−60°C to 130°C) at the supply voltage of 0.75V. It utilizes only CMOS transistors, operating in the subthreshold regime, and poly-silicon resistors without using any diodes or external compon…

research product