Zhang Keying

SRAM single event upset calculation and test using protons in the secondary beam in the BEPC

The protons in the secondary beam in the Beijing Electron Positron Collider (BEPC) are first analyzed and a large proportion at the energy of 50–100 MeV supply a source gap of high energy protons. In this study, the proton energy spectrum of the secondary beam was obtained and a model for calculating the proton single event upset (SEU) cross section of a static random access memory (SRAM) cell has been presented in the BEPC secondary beam proton radiation environment. The proton SEU cross section for different characteristic dimensions has been calculated. The test of SRAM SEU cross sections has been designed, and a good linear relation between SEUs in SRAM and the fluence was found, which is evidence that an SEU has taken place in the SRAM. The SEU cross sections were measured in SRAM with different dimensions. The test result shows that the SEU cross section per bit will decrease with the decrease of the characteristic dimensions of the device, while the total SEU cross section still increases upon the increase of device capacity. The test data accords with the calculation results, so the high-energy proton SEU test on the proton beam in the BEPC secondary beam could be conducted.

Synergistic effects of total ionizing dose on single event upset sensitivity in static random access memory under proton irradiation

Synergistic effects of the total ionizing dose (TID) on the single event upset (SEU) sensitivity in static random access memories (SRAMs) were studied by using protons. The total dose was cumulated with high flux protons during the TID exposure, and the SEU cross section was tested with low flux protons at several cumulated dose steps. Because of the radiation-induced off-state leakage current increase of the CMOS transistors, the noise margin became asymmetric and the memory imprint effect was observed.

First principles simulation technique for characterizing single event effects

This paper develops a new simulation technique to characterize single event effects on semiconductor devices. The technique used to calculate the single event effects is developed according to the physical interaction mechanism of a single event effect. An application of the first principles simulation technique is performed to predict the ground-test single event upset effect on field-programmable gate arrays based on 0.25 μm advanced complementary metal—oxide—semiconductor technology. The agreement between the single event upset cross section accessed from a broad-beam heavy ion experiment and simulation shows that the simulation technique could be used to characterize the single event effects induced by heavy ions on a semiconductor device.

60Co gamma radiation effect on AlGaN/AlN/GaN HEMT devices

The testing techniques and experimental methods of the 60Co gamma irradiation effect on AlGaN/AlN/GaN high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) are established. The degradation of the electrical properties of the device under the actual radiation environment are analyzed theoretically, and studies of the total dose effects of gamma radiation on AlGaN/AlN/GaN HEMTs at three different radiation bias conditions are carried out. The degradation patterns of the main parameters of the AlGaN/AlN/GaN HEMTs at different doses are then investigated, and the device parameters that were sensitive to the gamma radiation induced damage and the total dose level induced device damage are obtained.

Discussion of the metric in characterizing the single-event effect induced by heavy ions

The single-event effect (SEE) is the most serious problem in space environment. The modern semiconductor technology is concerned with the feasibility of the linear energy transfer (LET) as metric in characterizing SEE induced by heavy ions. In this paper, we calibrate the detailed static random access memory (SRAM) cell structure model of an advanced field programmable gate array (FPGA) device using the computer-aided design tool, and calculate the heavy ion energy loss in multi-layer metal utilizing Geant4. Based on the heavy ion accelerator experiment and numerical simulation, it is proved that the metric of LET at the device surface, ignoring the top metal material in the advanced semiconductor device, would underestimate the SEE. In the SEE evaluation in space radiation environment the top-layers on the semiconductor device must be taken into consideration.

Method of simulation of low dose rate for total dose effect in 0.18 μm CMOS technology

Three methods for simulating low dose rate irradiation are presented and experimentally verified by using 0.18 μm CMOS transistors. The results show that it is the best way to use a series of high dose rate irradiations, with 100 °C annealing steps in-between irradiation steps, to simulate a continuous low dose rate irradiation. This approach can reduce the low dose rate testing time by as much as a factor of 45 with respect to the actual 0.5 rad (Si)/s dose rate irradiation. The procedure also provides detailed information on the behavior of the test devices in a low dose rate environment.