60Co-Gamma Ray Induced Total Dose Effects on P-Channel MOSFETs

Total Dose Effect (TDE) on solid state devices is of serious concern as it changes the electrical properties leading to degradation of the devices and failure of the systems associated with them. Ionization caused due to TDE in commercial P-channel Metal Oxide Semiconductor Field Effect Transistors (MOSFETs) has been studied, where the failure mechanism is found to be mainly a result of the changes in the oxide properties and the surface effects at the channel beneath the gate oxide. The threshold voltage of the MOSFETs was found to shift from −0.69 V to −2.41 V for a total gamma dose of 1 Mrad. The net negative threshold shifts in the irradiated devices reveal the major contribution of oxide trapped charges to device degradation. The radiation induced oxide and interface charge densities were estimated through subthreshold measurements, and the trap densities were found to increase by one order in magnitude after a total gamma dose of 1 Mrad. Other parameters like transconductance, subthreshold swing, and drain saturation current are also investigated as a function of gamma dose.