49 research outputs found
Drain Current Decrease in MOSFETs After Heavy Ion Irradiation
No full textheavy ion irradiation on MOSFETs with ultra-thin gate oxide, even after electrical stresses subsequent to irradiation. We found that a single ion can generate a physically damaged region (PDR) localized in the Si/SiO2 interface, which may hamper the surface channel formation. In order to generate a PDR the ion hit must be close enough to MOSFET borders, i.e., in correspondence with the STI or the LDD spacer. Consequently, if both MOSFET W and L are large enough only few ion hits may give place to a PDR, mitigating the radiation damage. Finally we have developed an original model to describe the impact of the PDR on channel conductance in the ohmic linear region. On the basis of this model we predicte a PDR size around 0.2 –
Phosphors' Lifetime Measurement Employing the Time Between Photons Method
No full textThe Time Between Photons theory (hereafter TBP) is applied to the evaluation of the lifetime of phosphors employed in the Ion Photon Emission Microscope (IPEM). IPEM allows Radiation Effects Microscopy (REM) without focused ion beams and appears to be the best tool for the radiation hardness assessment of modern integrated circuit at cyclotron energies. IPEM determines the impact point of a single ion onto the sample by measuring the light spot produced on a thin phosphor layer placed on the sample surface. The spot is imaged by an optical microscope and projected at high magnification onto a Position Sensitive Detector (PSD). Phosphors, when excited by an ion, emit photons with a particular lifetime, which is important to evaluate. We measured the statistical distribution of the Time Between consecutive detected Photons (TBP) for several phosphors and have been able to link it to their lifetime employing a theory that is derived in this paper. The single-photon signals are provided by the IPEM-PSD, or faster photomultipliers when high-speed materials had to be assessed
The Ion Photon Emission Microscope on SNL's Nuclear Microprobe and in LBNL's Cyclotron Facility
No full textRadiation effects microscopy (REM) has evolved into an essential tool for the study, diagnostics and remedy of single event effects (SEE) in microelectronics devices, However, we are entering an era where the ion energies of the current systems are becoming inadequate for diagnosing SEE problems in modern ICs due to the great thickness of interlevel dielectric, metallization and passivation layers found on top of the active radiation-sensitive Si. Our solution is the ion photon emission microscope (IPEM), which eliminates the need to focus several GeV heavy ions. A tabletop IPEM is currently in use at Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), operating with alpha particles, and showing 4 um resolution. We have recently developed a second system, and installed it on one of the SNL nuclear microprobe lines to demonstrate the principle and prove its potential as a portable radiation effects microscope that can be installed at the LBNL GeV cyclotron facility. The microprobe system is currently operating with similar to 2 um resolution. The determined advantages of installing a similar system at the LBNL cyclotron facility will be discussed, in addition to recently measured optical characteristics of the various phosphor materials being investigated
Modeling of Heavy Ion Induced Charge Loss Mechanisms in Nanocrystal Memory Cell
No full textWe present the first charge loss model of heavy ion induced radiation damage on nanocrystal memory cells. The model takes into account the nanocrystal distribution non uniformity and the effect of different programming techniques, which may produce non uniform charging of the nanocrystals. The model has been validated with a focused microbeam test. It provides an estimation of both the ion track size and the average number of ion hits required for achieving a given charge loss. In our irradiation experiments we estimated an ion track size (diameter) of 85nm for 50-MeV Cu ions. This model confirms also the good robustness of nanocrystal memories against heavy ion irradiation and their much stronger tolerance than the conventional floating gate based memories
Ion-Luminescence properties of GaN films being developed for IPEM
No full textRadiation effects microscopy (REM) for the next generation integrated circuits (ICs) will require GeV ions both to provide high ionization and to penetrate the thick overlayers in present day ICs. These ion beams can be provided by only a few cyclotrons in the world. Since it is extremely hard to focus these higher-energy ions, we have proposed the ion photon emission microscope (IPEM) that allows the determination of the ion hits by focusing the emitted photons to a position sensitive detector. The IPEM needs a thin luminescent foil that has high brightness, good spatial resolution and does not change the incident ion's energy and direction significantly. Available organic-phosphor foils require a large thickness to produce enough photons, which results in poor spatial resolution. To solve this problem, we have developed thin, lightly doped n-type GaN films that are extremely bright. We have grown high quality GaN films on sapphire using metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD), detached the films from the substrate using laser ablation, and made them self-supporting. The smallest foils have 1 mm(2) area and 1 um thickness. The optical properties, such as light yield, spectrum and decay times were measured and compared to those of conventional phosphors, by using both alpha particles from a radioactive source and 250 keV ions from an implanter. We found that the GaN performance strongly depends on composition and doping levels. The conclusion is that 1-2 um GaN film of a 1 mm(2) area may become an ideal ion position detector
Ion Beam Induced Luminescence of Doped Yttrium Compunds
No full textRare earth doped yttrium oxide (yttria) and silicate, Y2O3:Eu and Y2SiO5:Tb, are the most promising phosphors for advanced devices such as flat panel field-emission-displays. However, their light yield for electron excitation has proven to be lower than that predicted by early models. New experimental data are needed to improve the theoretical understanding of the cathodoluminescence (CL) that will, in turn, lead to materials that are significantly brighter. Beside the existing CL and photo luminescence (PL) measurements, one can provide new information by studying ion-induced luminescence (IL). Ions penetrate substantially deeper than electrons and their light yield should therefore not depend on surface effects. Moreover, the energy density released by ions can be much higher than that of electrons and photons, which results in possible saturation effects, further testing the adequacy of models.
We exposed the above yttrium compounds to three ion beams, H (3 MeV), C (20 MeV), Cu (50 MeV), which have substantially different electronic stopping powers. H was selected to provide an excitation close to CL, but without surface effects. The C and Cu allowed an evaluation of saturation effects because of their higher stopping powers. The IL experiments involved measuring the transient light intensity signal radiating from thin phosphor layers following their exposure to similar to 200 ns ion beam pulses. We present the transient yield curves for the two materials and discuss a general model for this behavior
Ion beam characterization of advanced luminescent materials for application in radiation effects microscopy
No full textThe ion photon emission microscope (IPEM) is a technique developed at Sandia National laboratories (SNL) to study radiation effects in integrated circuits with high energy, heavy ions, such as those produced by the 88" cyclotron at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL). In this method, an ion-luminescent film is used to produce photons from the point of ion impact. The photons emitted due to an ion impact are imaged on a position-sensitive detector to determine the location of a single event effect (SEE). Due to stringent resolution, intensity, wavelength, decay time, and radiation tolerance demands, an engineered material with very specific properties is required to act as the luminescent film. The requirements for this material are extensive. It must produce a high enough induced luminescent intensity so at least one photon is detected per ion hit. The emission wavelength must match the sensitivity of the detector used, and the luminescent decay time must be short enough to limit accidental coincidences. In addition, the material must be easy to handle and its luminescent properties must be tolerant to radiation damage. Materials studied for this application include plastic scintillators. GaN and GaN/InGaN quantum well structures, and lanthanide-activated ceramic phosphors. Results from characterization studies on these materials will be presented; including photoluminescence, cathodoluminescence, ion beam induced luminescence, luminescent decay times, and radiation damage. Results indicate that the ceramic phosphors are currently proving to be the ideal material for IPEM investigations
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Ion Beam Induced Charge Collection (IBICC) Studies of Cadmium Zinc Telluride (CZT) Radiation Detectors
No full textCadmium Zinc Telluride is an emerging material for room temperature radiation detectors. In order to optimize the performance of these detectors, it is important to determine how the electronic properties of CZT are related to the presence of impurities and defects that are introduced during the crystal growth and detector fabrication. At the Sandia microbeam facility IBICC and Time Resolved IBICC (TRIBICC) were used to image electronic properties of various CZT detectors. Two-dimensional areal maps of charge collection efficiency were deduced from the measurements. In order to determine radiation damage to the detectors, we measured the deterioration of the IBICC signal as the function of dose. A model to explain quantitatively the pattern observed in the charge collection efficiency maps of the damaged detectors has been developed and will be discussed in the paper
