Publications Details

Radiation hardening of a high voltage IC technology (BCDMOS)

Desko Jr., J.C.; Darwish, M.N.; Dolly, M.C.; Goodwin, C.A.; Dawes Jr., W.R.; Titus, J.L.

PIC's (Power Integrated Circuits) are becoming increasingly important because they allow integration of high-voltage and high-current power transistors, precision linear control circuitry, and low-voltage logic gates on the same monolithic chip. Integration of power and control functions provide benefits in reduced weight and size, enhanced reliability, and lower costs over conventional designs using these same components packaged separately. However, commercial PIC technologies, including AT T's commercial BCDMOS technology, are susceptible to failure in radiation environments. The relative lack of radiation hardness of the AT T BCDMOS technology was previously reported at this conference. Radiation hardening of PIC technologies is significantly more difficult than for other IC technologies, primarily because of the integration of many different types of devices into the technology. To facilitate integration, different devices share processing sequences. Thus, no one device can be optimized independently of the remaining devices. Since each device has its own distinct radiation response, this adds another set of constraints on the optimization of the overall technology from the point of view of device performance and radiation response. The high-voltage requirements further complicates efforts to harden a PIC technology. Modifying one device to optimize one aspect of its performance can severely impact all the other devices in the technology. 4 refs., 5 figs.