Developing radiation hardening by design methodologies for single event mitigation in silicon-germanium bicmos technologies

Abstract

Extreme environment applications impose stringent demands on technology platforms that are incorporated in electronic systems. Space is a classic extreme environment, encompassing both large temperature fluctuations as well as intense radiation fields. Silicon-germanium technology has emerged as a competitive platform for space-based applications, owing to its excellent low-temperature performance and total ionizing dose tolerance. This technology has however been repeatedly shown to be vulnerable to single event phenomena induced by galactic cosmic rays as well as trapped particles within the earth's geomagnetic field. To improve the radiation tolerance of systems incorporating SiGe components, modifications to fabrications steps (Radiation Hardening by Process, RHBP) and/or device/circuit topologies (Radiation Hardening by Design, RHBD) may be employed. For this thesis, two methodologies are analyzed, both RHBD techniques which come at no additional power/area penalty for implementation.