Simulating single-event burnout of n-channel power MOSFET's

Journal Article · Sat May 01 00:00:00 EDT 1993 · IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers); (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1109/16.210211· OSTI ID:6599023

Johnson, G H; Hohl, J H; Schrimpf, R D; Galloway, K F ^[1]

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1. Univ. of Arizona, Tucson (United States)

Heavy ions are ubiquitous in a space environment. Single-event burnout of power MOSFET's is a sudden catastrophic failure mechanism that is initiated by the passage of a heavy ion through the device structure. The passage of the heavy ion generates a current filament that locally turns on a parasitic n-p-n transistor inherent to the power MOSFET. Subsequent high currents and high voltage in the device induce second breakdown of the parasitic bipolar transistor and hence meltdown of the device. This paper presents a model that can be used for simulating the burnout mechanism in order to gain insight into the significant device parameters that most influence the single-event burnout susceptibility of n-channel power MOSFET's.

• OSTI ID: 6599023
• Journal Information: IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers); (United States), Vol. 40:5; ISSN 0018-9383
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
FIELD EFFECT TRANSISTORS
PHYSICAL RADIATION EFFECTS
FAILURES
FEEDBACK
HEAVY IONS
LET
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
SPACE FLIGHT
CHARGED PARTICLES
ENERGY TRANSFER
IONS
RADIATION EFFECTS
SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES
TRANSISTORS
440200* - Radiation Effects on Instrument Components
Instruments
or Electronic Systems