Topic > Single Event Effects Essay - 1781

Single event effects can induce destructive and non-destructive damage to the circuit. In this thesis only the non-destructive effect of the single event is taken into consideration. The basic mechanism for the single event effect in microelectronics includes charge deposition and collection. In the charge deposition process, there are two ways to release charge in semiconductor devices: (1) direct ionization is caused by the incident particles, and (2) indirect ionization is caused by the nuclear reaction between the incident particle and the device . Usually the deposition mechanism for heavy ions such as alpha particles is mainly direct ionization, while light particles such as protons and neutrons can cause a single upset event by indirect ionization \cite{1208578}. For direct ionization, when a particle hits the silicon substrate, a trace of electron-hole pairs (EHPs) is generated as the particle travels through the material and loses energy along its path. For indirect ionization, when light particles enter the semiconductor device, nuclear reactions will occur: (1) elastic collision; (2) the emission of alpha or gamma particles and the recoil of a daughter nucleus; (3) Spallation reactions. The products of these reactions can deposit energy along their path by direct ionization