In-Situ Testing of Radiation Effects on VLSI Capacitors Using the NPS LinearAccelerator

摘要

The study of radiation effects on VLSI components is a very heavily researchedtopic. There are several reasons for this research, one of which is the application of VLSI components to space related vehicles. One component essential to Analog VLSI elements is the capacitor. The purpose of this paper is to better define the actual effects of radiation on the MOS VLSI capacitor. The radiation testing is conducted using the NPS electron linear accelerator. The data is taken while the capacitor is being exposed to an accumulating dose of electron radiation. The capacitance values are monitored using the parameter changes of a specially designed low pass filter circuit. The 3 dB breakpoint frequency of this filter is used to calculate the actual capacitance. The capacitance value is then related to the accumulated radiation dose in Rads. The results are very important and needed, especially if off-the-shelf components are to be utilized in the design of spacecraft systems.