Parasitic bipolar amplification in a single event transient and its temperature dependence

Using three-dimensional technology computer-aided design （TCAD） simulation, parasitic bipolar amplification in a single event transient （SET） current of a single transistor and its temperature dependence are studied. We quantify the contributions of different current components in a SET current pulse, and it is found that the proportion of parasitic bipolar amplification in total collected charge is about 30% in both ]30-nm and 90-nm technologies. The temperature dependence of parasitic bipolar amplification and the mechanism of the SET pulse are also investigated and quantified. The results show that the proportion of charge induced by parasitic bipolar increases with rising temperature, which illustrates that the parasitic bipolar amplification plays an important role in the charge collection of a single transistor.

New insight into the parasitic bipolar amplification effect in single event transient production

In this paper, a new method is proposed to study the mechanism of charge collection in single event transient （SET） production in 90 nm bulk complementary metal oxide semiconductor （CMOS） technology. We find that different from the case in the pMOSFET, the parasitic bipolar amplification effect （bipolar effect） in the balanced inverter does not exist in the nMOSFET after the ion striking. The influence of the suhstrate process on the bipolar effect is also studied in the pMOSFET. We find that the bipolar effect can be effectively mitigated by a buried deep P＋-well layer and can be removed by a buried SO2 layer.

Experimental verification of the parasitic bipolar amplification effect in PMOS single event transients

The contribution of parasitic bipolar amplification to SETs is experimentally verified using two P-hit target chains in the normal layout and in the special layout. For PMOSs in the normal layout, the single-event charge collection is composed of diffusion, drift, and the parasitic bipolar effect, while for PMOSs in the special layout, the parasitic bipolar junction transistor cannot turn on. Heavy ion experimental results show that PMOSs without parasitic bipolar amplification have a 21.4% decrease in the average SET pulse width and roughly a 40.2% reduction in the SET cross-section.

Temperature dependence of the P-hit single event transient pulse width in a three-transistor inverter chain

A comparison of the temperature dependence of the P-hit single event transient （SET） in a two-transistor （2T） inverter with that in a three-transistor （3T） inverter is carried out based on a three-dimensional numerical simulation. Due to the significantly distinct mechanisms of the single event change collection in the 2T and the 3T inverters, the temperature plays different roles in the SET production and propagation. The SET pulse will be significantly broadened in the 2T inverter chain while will be compressed in the 3T inverter chain as temperature increases. The investigation provides a new insight into the SET mitigation under the extreme environment, where both the high temperature and the single event effects should be considered. The 3T inverter layout structure （or similar layout structures） will be a better solution for spaceborne integrated circuit design for extreme environments.

Single event transient pulse attenuation effect in three-transistor inverter chain

In this paper, compared with two-transistor (2T) inverter chain, the production and propagation of P-hit single event transient (SET) in three-transistor (3T) inverter chain is studied in depth based on three-dimensional numerical simulations in a 90 nm bulk complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) technology. The pulse attenuation effect is found in 3T inverter chain, and the pulse can not completely propagate through the inverter chain as LET increases. The discovery will provide a new insight into SET hardened design, the 3T inverter layout structure (or similar layout structures) will be a better method in integrated circuits (ICs) design in radiation environment.