Analysis of proton and γ-ray radiation effects on CMOS active pixel sensors

Radiation effects on complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor（CMOS） active pixel sensors（APS） induced by proton and γ-ray are presented. The samples are manufactured with the standards of 0.35 μm CMOS technology. Two samples have been irradiated un-biased by 23 MeV protons with fluences of 1.43 × 10^11 protons/cm^2 and 2.14 × 10^11 protons/cm-2,respectively, while another sample has been exposed un-biased to 65 krad（Si） ^60Co γ-ray. The influences of radiation on the dark current, fixed-pattern noise under illumination, quantum efficiency, and conversion gain of the samples are investigated. The dark current, which increases drastically, is obtained by the theory based on thermal generation and the trap induced upon the irradiation. Both γ-ray and proton irradiation increase the non-uniformity of the signal, but the nonuniformity induced by protons is even worse. The degradation mechanisms of CMOS APS image sensors are analyzed,especially for the interaction induced by proton displacement damage and total ion dose（TID） damage.

Single-event response of the SiGe HBT in TCAD simulations and laser microbeam experiment

In this paper the single-event responses of the silicon germanium heterojunction bipolar transistors(SiGe HBTs) are investigated by TCAD simulations and laser microbeam experiment. A three-dimensional(3D) simulation model is established, the single event effect(SEE) simulation is further carried out on the basis of Si Ge HBT devices, and then, together with the laser microbeam test, the charge collection behaviors are analyzed, including the single event transient(SET) induced transient terminal currents, and the sensitive area of SEE charge collection. The simulations and experimental results are discussed in detail and it is demonstrated that the nature of the current transient is controlled by the behaviors of the collector–substrate(C/S) junction and charge collection by sensitive electrodes, thereby giving out the sensitive area and electrode of SiGe HBT in SEE.

An investigation of ionizing radiation damage in different SiGe processes

Different SiGe processes and device designs are the critical influences of ionizing radiation damage. Based on the different ionizing radiation damage in SiGe HBTs fabricated by Huajie and an IBM SiGe process, quantitatively numerical simulation of ionizing radiation damage was carried out to explicate the distribution of radiation-induced charges buildup in KT9041 and IBM SiGe HBTs. The sensitive areas of the EB-spacer and isolation oxide of KT9041 are much larger than those of the IBM SiGe HBT, and the distribution of charge buildup in KT9041 is several orders of magnitude greater than that of the IBM SiGe HBT. The result suggests that the simulations are consistent with the experiment, and indicates that the geometry of the EB-spacer, the area of the Si/SiO2 interface and the isolation structure could be contributing to the different ionizing radiation damage.

Mechanical properties of multi-scale germanium specimens from space solar cells under electron irradiation

During long-term service in space,Gallium Arsenide(GaAs)solar cells are directly exposed to electron irradiation which usually causes a dramatic decrease in their performance.In the multilayer structure of solar cells,the germanium(Ge)layer occupies the majority of the thickness as the substrate.Due to the intrinsic brittleness of semiconductor material,there exist various defects during the preparation and assembly of solar cells,the influences of which tend to be intensified by the irradiation effect.In this work,first,Ge specimens for mechanical tests were prepared at scales from microscopic to macroscopic.Then,after different doses of electron irradiation,the mechanical properties of the Ge specimens were investigated.The experimental results demonstrate that electron irradiation has an obvious effect on the mechanical property variation of Ge in diverse scales.The four-point bending test indicates that the elastic modulus,fracture strength,and maximum displacement of the Ge specimens all increase,and reach the maximum value at the irradiation dose of 1×10^(15)e/cm^(2).The micrometer scale cantilever and nanoindentation tests present similar trends for Ge specimens after irradiation.Atomic Force Microscope(AFM)also observed the change in surface roughness.Finally,a fitting model was established to characterize the relation between modulus change and electron irradiation dose.

Enhanced aging and thermal shock performance of Mn_(1.95-x)Co_(0.21)Ni_(0.84)Sr_(x)O_(4) NTC ceramics

The Mn_(1.95-x)Co_(0.21)Ni_(0.84)Sr_(x)O_(4)(MCNS)(0≤x≤0.15)based negative temperature coefficient(NTC)materials are prepared by co-precipitation method.The replacement of Mn by Sr plays a critical role in controlling the lattice parameter,relative density,microstructure,and electrical properties.The lattice parameter and relative density increase with the increase of Sr content.A small amount of Sr restrains the grain growth and increases the bulk density.Moreover,the room resistivityρ25,material constant B25/50,activation energy Ea,and temperature coefficientαvalues of MCNS ceramics are influenced by the Sr content and ranged in 1535.0–2053.6Ω·cm,3654–3709 K,0.3149–0.3197 eV,and(–4.173%)–(–4.111%),respectively.The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS)results explain the transformation of MCNS ceramics from n-to p-type semiconductors.The conduction could arise from the hopping polaron between Mn3+/Mn4+and Co^(2+)/Co^(3+) in the octahedral sites.The impedance data analysis also discusses the conduction mechanism of the MCNS ceramic,whereas grain resistance dominates the whole resistance of the samples.Furthermore,the aging coefficient(△R/R)of MCNS ceramics is found to be<0.2%,which indicates the stable distribution of cations in the spinel.Finally,the MCNS ceramics demonstrate excellent thermal durability with<1.3%of resistance shift after 100 thermal shock cycles.

Total ionizing dose effects in pinned photodiode complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor transistor active pixel sensor

A pinned photodiode complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor transistor（CMOS） active pixel sensor is exposed to ^60Co to evaluate the performance for space applications. The sample is irradiated with a dose rate of 50 rad（SiO2）/s and a total dose of 100 krad（SiO2）, and the photodiode is kept unbiased. The degradation of dark current, full well capacity,and quantum efficiency induced by the total ionizing dose damage effect are investigated. It is found that the dark current increases mainly from the shallow trench isolation（STI） surrounding the pinned photodiode. Further results suggests that the decreasing of full well capacity due to the increase in the density, is induced by the total ionizing dose（TID） effect, of the trap interface, which also leads to the degradation of quantum efficiency at shorter wavelengths.