Development of radiation-resistant semiconductor devices

Abstract

  In this work, we compared the radiation hardness of SiC Buried Gate Static Induction Transistors (SiC-BGSITs) and Si-based switching devices up to the absorbed dose of 10 MGy(SiO₂). The on-voltage V_on of Si-IGBT degraded excessively at the early stage of the irradiation (>～0.1 MGy(SiO₂)) due to the bulk damage produced by Compton electrons like the gain degradation in Si bipolar transistors. The threshold voltage V_th of Si-MOSFET was very sensitive against the radiation due to the competing mechanism between the generation of the hole traps in the gate SiO₂ and the SiO₂/Si interface states. Moreover, the breakdown voltage V_BR and leak current I_leak of MOSFET degraded significantly against the absorbed dose. While, the electrical properties of SiC-BGSIT was very stable even after the irradiation of 10 MGy(SiO₂).