High Total Ionizing Dose and Temperature Effects on Micro- and Nano-Electronic Devices

Abstract : This paper investigates the vulnerability of several micro- and nano-electronic technologies to a mixed harsh environment involving high total ionizing dose at MGy levels and high temperature. Such operating conditions emerge today for several applications like new security systems in existing or future nuclear power plants, fusion experiments, or deep space missions. In this work, the competing effects of ionizing radiations and temperature are characterized in elementary devices made of MOS transistors from several technologies. First, devices are irradiated using a radiation laboratory X-ray source up to MGy dose levels at room temperature. Devices are either grounded or biased during irradiation to simulate two major circuit cases: a circuit which waits for a wake up signal, representing most of the lifetime of an integrated circuit operating in a harsh environment, and a nominal circuit function. Devices are then annealed at several temperatures to discuss the post-irradiation behavior and to determine whether an elevated temperature is an issue or not for circuit function in mixed harsh environments.