Integrated Circuit Design for Radiation Environments

1 Introduction and Historical Perspective

1.1 Introduction

This book provides a structured approach to the design of radiation‐hardened integrated circuits (ICs), covering digital, and analog and mixed‐signal applications. The emphasis will be on space applications, but we will also briefly discuss other environments including nuclear reactors, weapons spectra, and the interesting and challenging environment found in high‐energy particle physics facilities. We will begin with a brief historical introduction to radiation and its interactions with semiconductor materials. An understanding of basic physics is vital to efficient design, as without this knowledge the design process is all too likely to devolve into a trial‐and‐error exercise. In today's highly competitive semiconductor business, time to market is a vital and probably the most important consideration, with major development programs often canceled because of schedule slips. Delays in the time to market may well result in a part that is no longer competitive or even relevant. It should also be noted that an understanding of the physics behind radiation effects on device structures enables the effective designer to look at simulation and modeling tools with a critical eye, defining and correcting inconsistencies that would otherwise lead to redesigns.

It may well be asked what this radiation effects in electronics fuss is all about, with apologies to the late National Semiconductor analog circuit designer Bob ...