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This study investigates the sensitive region and safe operation voltage of single-event burnout (SEB) in lateral depletion-mode Ga2O3 MOSFET devices via technology computer aided design simulation. Based on the distribution of the electric field, carrier concentration, and electron current density when SEB occurs, the radiation damage mechanism of SEB is proposed. The mechanism of SEB in Ga2O3 MOSFET was revealed to be the result of a unique structure without a PN junction within it, which possesses gate control ability and exerts a significant influence on the conduction of the depletion region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AniMAIRE (Anisotropic Model for Atmospheric Ionising Radiation Effects) is a new model and Python toolkit for calculating radiation dose rates experienced by aircraft during anisotropic solar energetic particle events. AniMAIRE expands the physics of the MAIRE + model such that dose rate calculations can be performed for anisotropic solar energetic particle conditions by supplying a proton or alpha particle rigidity spectrum, a pitch angle distribution, and the conditions of Earth's magnetosphere. In this paper, we describe the algorithm and top‐level structure of AniMAIRE and showcase AniMAIRE's capabilities by analyzing the dose rate maps that AniMAIRE produces when the time‐dependent spectra and pitch angle distribution for Ground Level Enhancement (GLE) 71 are input. We find that the dose rates AniMAIRE produces for the event fall between the dose rates produced by the WASAVIES and CRAC:DOMO models. Dose rate maps that evolve throughout the event are also shown, and it is found that each peak in the input pitch angle distribution generates a dose rate hotspot in each of the polar regions. AniMAIRE has been made available openly online so that it can be downloaded and run freely on local machines and so that the space weather community can easily contribute to it using Github forking. Plain Language Summary: Solar particle events occur when particles are accelerated in eruptions on the Sun. If these particles hit Earth and have enough energy, they can penetrate Earth's magnetosphere and atmosphere, creating radiation showers that increase the radiation in Earth's atmosphere. When such increases are detected by neutron monitors at sea level, they are known as Ground‐Level Enhancements (GLEs), which occur once a year on average. GLEs can cause issues in aircraft electronics and cause passengers and crew on airplanes to experience heightened radiation doses. In this paper, we describe a new model to calculate radiation dose rates in the atmosphere during GLEs, called AniMAIRE. Most models that exist to date are only able to calculate radiation dose rates when all particles are hitting Earth equally from all directions, however this approximation is only reliable during the later stages of events, and isn't accurate for many GLEs. AniMAIRE has been designed so it doesn't need to rely on this approximation, and can calculate dose rates for situations where it is supplied a direction‐dependent particle flux, as well as those independent of direction. AniMAIRE has been tested across a GLE in May 2012, showing the direction dependent approach is necessary. Key Points: AniMAIRE can simulate atmospheric radiation and electronics effects from anyinput anisotropic distribution of particles hitting EarthAnisotropy is important in the event‐integrated dose calculation for GLE71 according to AniMAIREAniMAIRE has been made openly available online, such that anyone can run and experiment with it, or contribute to the model through forking [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effect of single event transient (SET) on 6T SRAM cell employing a 20 nm silicon‐based junctionless tunneling field effect transistor (JLTFET) is explored for the first time. JLTFET‐based SRAM circuit is designed using the look up table‐based Verilog A code obtained from TCAD values of the device. After verifying SRAM circuit for its functionality, the stability parameters, read static noise margin (RSNM), write static noise margin (WSNM), read/write delay, and power consumption are evaluated. It is observed that the circuit has a good stability of noise margin and lesser delay. The radiation study is carried out using a transient current source striking at one of the output nodes. This causes single event upset (SEU) which changes the data stored in the memory cell giving rise to soft error (SER). SER is recovered by the radiation hardening by design (RHBD) technique with an additional RC network between two cross coupled inverters. The performance metrics, read/write delay, and the power consumption before, during, and after the radiation strike are analyzed. It is observed that SER gets totally eliminated with less recovery time at the expense of a slight increase in power and delay. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This manuscript focuses on studying the radiation response of the Commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) AD524CDZ operational amplifier. Total Ionizing Dose (TID) effects were tested using low-dose 60Co irradiation. Single-Event Effect (SEE) sensitivity was studied on this operational amplifier using a 105 MeV proton beam. Additionally, further study of the SEE response was carried out using a Two-photon absorption laser to scan some sensitive sectors of the die. For this laser experiment, different gain setups and laser energies were employed to determine how the Single Event Transient (SET) response of the device was affected based on the test configuration. The results from the TID experiments revealed that the studied device remained functional after 100 krads (Si). Proton experiments revealed the studied device exhibited a high SET response with a maximum DC offset SET of about 1.5 V. Laser experiments demonstrated that there was a clear SET reduction when using 10× and 1000× gain setups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

CMOS image sensors in optical payloads are susceptible to single-event effects when irradiated by high-energy protons from the spatial radiation environment. Single-event transients in images primarily manifest as bright spots, and the characteristics of transient bright spots generated under different incident conditions exhibit some differences. In this study, we conducted proton irradiation experiments on CMOS image sensors at different energy levels and incident angles. The characteristics of single-event transient bright spots generated under various incident conditions were extracted and analysed in detail. Furthermore, the abnormal phenomena of different functional modules of CMOS image sensors observed during proton irradiation experiments were investigated. The results of this study establish the foundation for classifying the detected targets and transient bright spots, indicating that the validation of CMOS image sensor radiation reliability should account for functional abnormalities resulting from high-energy proton irradiation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a prominent focus in high-voltage power devices, SiC MOSFETs have broad application prospects in the aerospace field. Due to the unique characteristics of the space radiation environment, the reliability of SiC MOSFETs concerning single-event effects (SEEs) has garnered widespread attention. In this study, we employed accelerator-heavy ion irradiation experiments to study the degradation characteristics for SEEs of 1.2 kV SiC MOSFETs under different bias voltages and temperature conditions. The experimental results indicate that when the drain-source voltage (VDS) exceeds 300 V, the device leakage current increases sharply, and even single-event burnout (SEB) occurs. Furthermore, a negative gate bias (VGS) can make SEB more likely via gate damage and Poole–Frenkel emission (PF), reducing the VDS threshold of the device. The radiation degradation behavior of SiC MOSFETs at different temperatures was compared and analyzed, showing that although high temperatures can increase the safe operating voltage of VDS, they can also cause more severe latent gate damage. Through an in-depth analysis of the experimental data, the physical mechanism by which heavy ion irradiation causes gate leakage in SiC MOSFETs was explored. These research findings provide an essential basis for the reliable design of SiC MOSFETs in aerospace applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a novel AlGaN/GaN HEMT structure with a P-GaN buried layer in the buffer layer and a locally doped barrier layer under the gate (PN-HEMT) is proposed to enhance its resistance to single event transient (SET) effects while also overcoming the degradation of other characteristics. The device operation mechanism and characteristics are investigated by TCAD simulation. The results show that the peak electric field and impact ionization at the gate edges are reduced in the PN-HEMT due to the introduced P-GaN buried layer in the buffer layer. This leads to a decrease in the peak drain current (Ipeak) induced by the SET effect and an improvement in the breakdown voltage (BV). Additionally, the locally doped barrier layer provides extra electrons to the channel, resulting in higher saturated drain current (ID,sat) and maximum transconductance (gmax). The Ipeak of the PN-HEMT (1.37 A/mm) is 71.8% lower than that of the conventional AlGaN/GaN HEMT (C-HEMT) (4.85 A/mm) at 0.6 pC/µm. Simultaneously, ID,sat and BV are increased by 21.2% and 63.9%, respectively. Therefore, the PN-HEMT enhances the hardened SET effect of the device without sacrificing other key characteristics of the AlGaN/GaN HEMT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aerospace-grade SRAM-based field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) used in space applications are highly susceptible to single event effects, leading to soft errors in FPGAs. Additionally, as FPGAs scale up, the difficulty of correcting soft errors also increases. This paper proposes that performing soft error sensitivity analysis on FPGAs can help target the more sensitive areas for detection and correction, thereby improving the efficiency of soft error repair. Firstly, in accordance with the dual-layer architecture of SRAM-based FPGAs, methods for the soft error sensitivity analysis of FPGA application layer resources and configuration bitstreams are reviewed. Subsequently, based on the analysis results, it also covers corresponding application layer memory scrubbing and configuration scrubbing techniques. A prospective look at emerging soft error mitigation technologies is discussed at the end of this review, supporting the development of highly reliable aerospace-grade SRAM-based FPGAs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nano-satellites, which are following the CubeSat standard have established for demanding industrial and scientific applications with critical requirements on reliability and radiation tolerance. The employment of commercial off-the-shelf components enables a state-of-the-art performance but requires extensive testing to avoid and mitigate malefunctions due to the space environment. The CubeSat mission CLIMB is representative for future missions with a complex payload, a high power budget and a harsh radiation exposure. For this reason, a comprehensive irradiation study of its on-board-computer was done. The total ionizing dose damage of 50 krad was evaluated at a 60 Co source. As a consequence of this test, specific components were exchanged before performing single event effect studies at the synchrotron accelerator MedAustron. A board-level test revealed that the majority of effects concern the central micro controller wherefore was followed by a component-level test. Those irradiation tests make use of a pencil beam to map the device under test, which provides additional information to localize effects - by the timestamp - at the expense of an increased irradiation time compared to a homogeneous exposure. In this paper, we summarize the major findings of the test campaign and mitigation means and present a procedure for single event effect studies at medical accelerators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-voltage semiconductor devices are vulnerable to Single Event Burnout (SEB) as a result of interactions with Galactic Cosmic Rays (GCR). SEB is a permanent failure triggered by the passage of a single particle during the turn-off state of the device. This paper investigates SEB in a PiN diode induced by various ions in space through simulation. The Linear Energy Transfer (LET) of the ions studied was determined using SRIM. Additionally, the electrical properties of the device due to irradiation were analyzed using the Silvaco TCAD tool. The key indicator of SEB occurrence is the threshold voltage of SEB (VSEB). Therefore, the correlation between the ion's LET and VSEB was investigated. The results indicate that the most sensitive region is in the middle of the device, and SEB is caused by avalanche multiplication of ion-generated carriers. It was also observed that the VSEB decreased from 3200 V to 2100 V; as the LET increased from 0.19 to 58 MeV.cm².mg-1 for He and Ta, respectively. Consequently, ions with higher LET values can cause the device to burnout at a lower VSEB level, increasing the device’s sensitivity to SEB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

GaN HEMT devices are sensitive to the single event effect (SEE) caused by heavy ions, and their reliability affects the safe use of space equipment. In this work, a Ge ion (LET = 37 MeV·cm2/mg) and Bi ion (LET = 98 MeV·cm2/mg) were used to irradiate Cascode GaN power devices by heavy ion accelerator experimental device. The differences of SEE under three conditions: pre-applied electrical stress, different LET values, and gate voltages are studied, and the related damage mechanism is discussed. The experimental results show that the pre-application of electrical stress before radiation leads to an electron de-trapping effect, generating defects within the GaN device. These defects will assist in charge collection so that the drain leakage current of the device will be enhanced. The higher the LET value, the more electron–hole pairs are ionized. Therefore, the charge collected by the drain increases, and the burn-out voltage advances. In the off state, the more negative the gate voltage, the higher the drain voltage of the GaN HEMT device, and the more serious the back-channel effect. This study provides an important theoretical basis for the reliability of GaN power devices in radiation environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The space environment is extremely hostile to the spacecraft but also to the equipment it carries. The materials which are used to the external side of the spacecraft, the solar panels, the sensors, and the electronics circuits, suffer greatly from their exposure to it. Extreme temperatures, ultraviolet radiation, ionizing radiation from solar proton events and cosmic rays, atomic oxygen in LEO, as well as collisions with micrometeoroids and space debris are factors that degrade the stuff, multiply the mission cost, and increase the risk. Therefore, the state-of-art of material technology is needed. In this study, a set of materials and technologies are presented, which reduce the above-mentioned risks. Extreme temperatures, ultra-vacuum, atomic oxygen, and high-energy radiation including particles as well as energy sources (X- and gamma rays) are potential extreme exposure conditions. Testing and qualification of materials exposed to these extreme conditions is a difficult task, to enable the design and manufacturing of high-endurance reliable components to be used in the world's most sophisticated satellite and spacecraft components, as well as in future endeavors into the vicinity of the Solar System. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The problem that the conventional double-exponential transient current model (DE model) can overdrive the circuit, which leads to the overestimation of the soft error rate of the logic cell, is solved. Our work uses a new and accurate model for predicting the soft error rate that brings the soft error rate closer to the actual. The piecewise double-exponential transient current model (PDE model) is chosen, and the accuracy of the model is reflected using the Layout Awareness Single Event Multi Transients Soft Error Rate Calculation tool (LA-SEMT-SER tool). The model can characterize transient current pulses piecewise and limit the peak current magnitude to not exceed the conduction current. TCAD models are constructed from 28 nm process library and cell layouts. The transfer characteristic curves of devices are calibrated, and functional timing verification is performed to ensure the accuracy of the TCAD model. The experimental results show that the PDE model is not only more consistent with TCAD simulation than the DE model in modeling the single event transient currents of the device, but also that the SER calculated by the LA-SEMT-SER tool based on the PDE model has a smaller error than the SER calculated by the LA-SEMT-SER tool based on the DE model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The static random-access memory (SRAM) physical unclonable function (PUF) uses the power-up states of stored values to derive the identification code. Its lightweight circuit design makes it suitable for power-sensitive satellites. However, the SRAM PUF is significantly affected by high-energy particles and cosmic rays in space, which causes incorrect output of identity authentication codes and further leading to a degradation in reliability. Recently, the main research works are concerned about the impact of cosmic rays induced total ionizing dose effects on the SRAM PUF, and few reports discuss the high-energy particles induced single event effects on the SRAM PUF. This paper presents the reliability results of planar and FinFET-based SRAM PUFs after high-energy heavy ion experiments. Experimental results indicate that 3%–10% of the SRAM PUF bits change from their original power-on states, which demonstrate that ion-induced microdose effects degrade the reliability of SRAM PUFs. In addition, the three-dimensional technology computer-aided design simulation tool is used to analyze the physical mechanisms of the experimental phenomena. Simulation results show that the heavy ion-induced microdose effect ionizes and produces trapped charges at the silicon/insulation interface, which causes a slight change in transistor leakage current or a slight drift in threshold voltage. The physical mechanisms lead to an off-state current mismatch in the SRAM cell and finally affect the stored values after power-on. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The model of lateral β-Ga2O3 metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) was established using Sentaurus Technology Computer Aided Design software. The gate-to-drain distance of the device was 13.7 μm, and the breakdown voltage was 1135 V. The single event effect simulation model caused by heavy ion irradiation was introduced, and the effects of heavy ions' incident position, angle, drain bias voltage, and linear energy transfer on the single event effect were studied. It is found that x = 7.7 μm is the sensitive location of the single event effect at the gate corner near the drain side and the peak value of the transient current is 177 mA/mm. The effect of the terminal structure of the field plate on the transient effect of the single event effect of β-Ga2O3 MOSFET is studied. It is also found that the sensitive position of the single event effect of the conventional structure, gate-field plate structure, and gate–source composite field plate structure is around x = 7.7 μm when VDS = 10 V. The peak transient currents obtained are 177, 161, and 148 mA/mm. The single event effect pulse current of the three structures increases with an increase in the drain bias voltage, while the peak pulse current of the conventional structure is larger than that of the gate-field plate structure and the gate–source composite structure. The research shows that the terminal structure of the field plate is reliable means to reduce the single particle effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to promotion the RF performance, a grade In1-xGaxAs channel (G-HEMT) introduced to the AlGaAs/InGaAs HEMT. The G-HEMT with the grade In1-xGaxAs channel forms a deeper potential well and confines more electrons in the channel, results in improving the DC and RF characteristics. Moreover, because of the grade In1-xGaxAs is effectively reduced the peak electric field, and leads to a significant increase in breakdown voltage (BV). Moreover, the G-HEMT also increases resistance to single event effects (SEE). The simulation results indicate that the fmax is significantly increased to 889 GHz of G-HEMT from 616 GHz of conventional AlGaAs/InGaAs HEMT (C-HEMT). The the fT is significantly increased to 521 GHz of G-HEMT from 326 GHz of C-HEMT, as well as the IDsat is increased by 64.8% and the BV increases by 37%. In addition, the SEE peak drain current of G-HEMT is dramatically reduced 51%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the single-event burnout (SEB) and reinforcement structure of 1200 V SiC MOSFET (SG-SBD-MOSFET) with split gate and Schottky barrier diode (SBD) embedded were studied. The device structure was established using Sentaurus TCAD, and the transient current changes of single-event effect (SEE), SEB threshold voltage, as well as the regularity of electric field peak distribution transfer were studied when heavy ions were incident from different regions of the device. Based on SEE analysis of the new structural device, two reinforcement structure designs for SEB resistance were studied, namely the expansion of the P+ body contact area and the design of a multi-layer N-type interval buffer layer. Firstly, two reinforcement schemes for SEB were analyzed separately, and then comprehensive design and analysis were carried out. The results showed that the SEB threshold voltage of heavy ions incident from the N+ source region was increased by 16% when using the P+ body contact area extension alone; when the device is reinforced with a multi-layer N-type interval buffer layer alone, the SEB threshold voltage increases by 29%; the comprehensive use of the P+ body contact area expansion and a multi-layer N-type interval buffer layer reinforcement increased the SEB threshold voltage by 33%. Overall, the breakdown voltage of the reinforced device decreased from 1632.935 V to 1403.135 V, which can be seen as reducing the remaining redundant voltage to 17%. The device's performance was not significantly affected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Physics-based 3D simulations were conducted on a GaN high-electron-mobility transistor (HEMT) and a super-heterojunction field-effect transistor (SHJFET) to investigate the single event effect mechanism under heavy ion irradiation. Most of the single event transient current in HEMT was attributed to the punch-through effect in the bulk caused by the local increase in electrostatic potential. With improved E-field management and a more favorable potential profile to suppress source electron injection, the SHJFET had a 70% lower transient current peak value compared to the HEMT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Equatorial plasma bubbles (EPBs) occur frequently in low-latitude areas and have a non-negligible impact on navigation satellite signals. To systematically analyze the effects of a single EPB event on multi-frequency signals of GPS, Galileo, GLONASS, and BDS, all-sky airglow images over South China are jointly used to visually determine the EPB structure and depletion degree. The results reveal that scintillations, or GNSS signal fluctuations, are directly linked to EPBs and that the intensity of scintillation is positively correlated with the airglow depletion intensity. The center of the airglow depletion often corresponds to stronger GNSS scintillation, while the edge of the bubble, which is considered to have the largest density gradient, corresponds to relatively smaller scintillation instead. This work also systematically analyzes the responses of multi-constellation and multi-frequency signals to EPBs. The results show that the L2 and L5 frequencies are more susceptible than the L1 frequency is. For different constellations, Galileo's signal has the best tracking stability during an EPB event compared with GPS, GLONASS, and BDS. The results provide a reference for dual-frequency signal selection in precise positioning or TEC calculation, that is, L1C and L2L for GPS, L1C and L5Q for Galileo, L1P and L2C for GLONASS, and L1P and L5P for BDS. Notably, BDS-2 is significantly weaker than BDS-3. And inclined geosynchronous orbit (IGSO) satellites have abnormal data error rates, which should be related to the special signal path trajectory of the IGSO satellite. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the central control component in aerospace products, SRAM-based FPGA finds extensive application in space. In its operational context, the space radiation environment introduces single event effect (SEE) and space electrostatic discharge effect (SESD) in FPGAs. This paper investigates SEE and SESD in SRAM-based FPGA using an integrated simulation method that combines device-level and circuit-level analyses. The findings reveal that the distinction in signal transmission primarily lies in the number of upsets and their correlation with the initial state. SEE can lead to single-bit or multi-bit upsets in SRAM, while SESD typically induces multi-bit upsets (MBU) in SRAM. Furthermore, the logic upset caused by SEE exhibits almost no correlation with the initial state of SRAM. Conversely, the upset caused by SESD is linked to the initial state, and the threshold voltage of Single Event Upsets (SEU) in different initial states is not uniform. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A radiation-hardened-by-design (RHBD) current-starved-ring voltage-controlled oscillator (CSR-VCO) design is proposed based on the separation of gate input technique to mitigate single event effects (SEEs) for phase-locked loop (PLL) implementation. A double-exponential (DE) current model is used to analyze the effect of single event transient (SET) at the output of the proposed RHBD CSR-VCO. The proposed RHBD CSR-VCO is implemented in United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC) 65 nm CMOS technology and a 71.6% improvement is achieved in phase displacement as compared to conventional VCO. The oscillation frequency of 1.75 GHz is obtained for the proposed RHBD CSR-VCO with a tuning range from 0.40 GHz to 2.23 GHz and power dissipation of 1.368 mW. The proposed RHBD CSR-VCO is protected against radiation with deposited charges up to 1050 fC and achieved a higher figure-of-merit (FOM) when compared to the recently reported VCOs and PLLs. This shows that even in a radiation-prone environment, the RHBD PLL can achieve excellent performance and be employed successfully in low-power, high-speed communication applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With feature size scaling down, the effect of single event transient (SET) on the reliability of circuits is necessary to be considered. The bipolar amplification effect plays a key role in the charge collection of SET of nano-meter FinFET devices. It is important taking into account the bipolar amplification to calculate deposited charge, which is always obtained by a linear model dependency on linear energy transfer (LET) and silicon film thickness. Based on radiation-induced generation rate model and genetic arithmetic, an accurate analytical for the deposited charge of SET in FinFET is proposed. The effects of LET, volume of particle hit, characteristic radius and decay time of Gaussian function on the deposited charge are analyzed by the proposed model. The dependence of the device structure on the deposited charge is also discussed by the model. The results indicate that the presented model agrees with TCAD well. Compared with TCAD, the proposed model has an average relative error 0.002% while the linear model has an average relative error 50.5% for LET ranging from 3 to 110 MeV·cm2/mg. Due to large sensitive volume of the particle hit in source and drain areas, the deposited charge has two maxima in source and drain areas and a minimum round the gate-drain junction of fin. The deposited charge increases with the characteristic radius and decay time decrease and the relative error between TCAD and the proposed model represent a reduction trend. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The latest edition of the IETE Journal of Research Volume 70, Number 4, April 2024, contains seventy-eight articles covering various topics in the fields of communications, electromagnetics, opto-electronics, computers and computing, control engineering, electronic circuits, devices and components, instrumentation and measurement, medical electronics, and power electronics. The articles present new developments and ongoing research in these areas. The summaries highlight the key findings and contributions of each paper, providing library patrons with a brief overview of the research conducted in these areas. The document encourages scholars, researchers, and readers to apply the studies contained within to their own work. [Extracted from the article]

With the rapid development of semiconductor technology, the reduction in device operating voltage and threshold voltage has made integrated circuits more susceptible to the effects of particle radiation. Moreover, as process sizes decrease, the impact of charge sharing effects becomes increasingly severe, with soft errors caused by single event effects becoming one of the main causes of circuit failures. Therefore, the study of sensitivity evaluation methods for integrated circuits is of great significance for promoting the optimization of integrated circuit design, improving single event effect experimental methods, and enhancing the irradiation reliability of integrated circuits. In this paper, we first established a device model for the charge sharing effect and simulated it under reasonable conditions. Based on the simulation results, we then built a neural network model to predict the charge amounts in primary and secondary devices. We also propose a comprehensive automated method for calculating soft errors in unit circuits and validated it through TCAD simulations, achieving an error margin of 2.8–4.3%. This demonstrated the accuracy and effectiveness of the method we propose. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) and other synchrotrons worldwide have seen an increase in industry use since the 1990s. To meet industry needs, synchrotrons have established industry liaison offices and collaborations with research organizations and science service companies. The ESRF has set an annual commercial income target and received external funding to develop new services for industry, such as high-throughput X-ray powder diffraction and elemental analysis. The new ESRF-EBS light source has improved data collection speed, and the STREAMLINE project has made it more accessible. The ESRF now offers opportunities for the industrial and academic sectors, particularly in mining, chemistry, and material discovery. The ESRF is also involved in projects to test electronic circuit sensitivity to radiation and measure residual stresses. Efforts have been made to engage with industry through outreach programs and collaborations with small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The ESRF has partnered with the European Innovation Council to provide specialized services to deep tech companies. Collaboration between synchrotrons and industry is crucial for addressing global challenges and promoting research and innovation. [Extracted from the article]

With continuous downscaling of transistor sizes, the sensitivity to single event effect (SET) has become one of the most important reliability issues for aerospace integrated circuits. Besides the SET, integrated circuits will be affected by multiphysics such as temperature and voltage when working in space. Currently, the commonly used modeling methods are based on physical mechanisms and the double exponential pulse current. However, both methods are hard to build an accurate SET current model when various variables are considered. In this article, a novel machine learning modeling method of multiphysics SET is proposed, using intelligent algorithms to optimize the network also. With this method, we can obtain a reasonable and accurate multiphysics SET model based on neural network with single hidden layer, and there is no need to consider complex physical mechanisms. The model data is collected from TCAD simulation. Ant colony algorithm was used to optimize the initial values of the network. The RMS (root mean square error) of modeling result is less than 2%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For a power device to be used in space, it must be able to recover from a single event effect caused by heavy ion radiation. Conventional vertical silicon carbide (SiC) power devices such as automotive diodes and MOSFETs, can only meet this requirement if they are heavily derated, a 1200 V device typically unusable above 200 V. In this paper, a lateral RESURF Schottky diode has been designed in TCAD simulation using a radiation-hard (rad-hard) by design methodology. By preventing anode-to-cathode shorting that occurs in a vertical drift region, the lateral design is shown to recover after a heavy ion traverses the device with a linear energy transfer (LET) of 60 MeV·cm2/mg, while the device is blocking 1200 V. The design splits the drift region into a higher doping zone closer to the cathode (Zone 2) of 1.5×1017 cm−3 and a lower doping zone closer to the anode (Zone 1) of 1×1016 cm−3. The electric field spikes were reduced while the device was recovering. This design keeps the local temperature in the device to under 1000 K if the heavy ion penetrates the device in a direction perpendicular to the surface. Other entry positions and directions are also simulated and a maximum temperature of 1733 K occurs when the ion path is horizontal, entering at 1 μm below the surface. However, this temperature peak occurs at the cathode, which is not expected to lead to lasting leakage damage. A deep P+ pillar embedded into the anode acts as a collector for holes generated during the single event. Simulations show that a deeper P+ pillar, to a depth of up to 5 μm, reduces the hole density in the N-drift region and P-epi layer during recovery. This also allows the Zone 1 doping to be increased to as much as 5×1016 cm−3, thereby reducing on-state losses.

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Traditionally, studies have primarily focused on single event effects in aerospace electronics. However, current research has confirmed that atmospheric neutrons can also induce single event effects in China's advanced technology relay protection devices. Spallation neutron irradiation tests on a Loongson 2K1000 system-on-chip based relay protection device have revealed soft errors, including abnormal sampling, refusal of operation and interlock in the relay protection device. Given the absence of standardized evaluation methods for single event effects on relay protection devices, the following research emphasizes the use of Monte Carlo simulation and software fault injection. Various types of single event upsets, such as single bit upsets, dual bit upsets, and even eight bit upsets, were observed in Monte Carlo simulations where atmospheric neutrons hit the chip from different directions (top and bottom). The simulation results indicated that the single event effect sensitivity of the relay protection device was similar whether the neutron hit from the top or the bottom. Through software fault injection, the study also identified soft errors caused by neutron induced single event upsets on the Loongson 2K1000 system, including failure to execute, system halt, time out, and error result. And the soft error number of system halts and error results exceeded that of time outs and failures to execute in all three tested programs. This research represents a preliminary assessment of single event effects on relay protection devices and is expected to provide valuable insights for evaluating the reliability of advanced technology relay protection devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transient pulses generated by high-energy particles can cause soft errors in circuits, resulting in spacecraft malfunctions and posing serious threats to the normal operation of spacecraft. For integrated circuits used in space applications, it is necessary to first evaluate soft errors caused by transient pulses. Conventional soft-error-rate evaluation tools are designed to simulate the generation of transient pulses using many accurate models, while the propagation of transient pulses is primarily simulated by circuit-level simulation tools. Due to the limitations of simulation tools, conventional evaluation approaches are limited to the circuit scale. The simulation runtime is unbearable for large-scale integrated circuits. This paper presents an approach for evaluating the soft error rate using machine learning. A back propagation neural network is implemented in the proposed approach. It helps to determine the probability of transient pulse propagation. Compared with the conventional soft-error-rate evaluation results, the proposed approach demonstrates a strong correlation in both trend and magnitude. The average difference between the results obtained using the proposed evaluation method and the experimental results is 23.5%, which is 7.5% higher than that between the results obtained using the conventional evaluation method and the experimental results. Compared to the conventional evaluation method, the proposed approach improves the runtime by an order of magnitude. The proposed approach also benefits the locating of highly sensitive circuit nodes in large-scale integrated circuits. Circuit design and radiation hardening are both useful applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The high energy particles in the space environment will perturb integrated circuits, resulting in system errors or even failures, which is also known as single event effects (SEE). To ensure the normal operation of space systems, it is first necessary to detect these errors. However, detection algorithms also bring additional overhead to the system and reduce its performance. Therefore, we aim to find a trade-off between reliability and performance. To this end, we propose a quantitative evaluation model for detection methods that evaluates the reliability gain of different detection methods under the same overhead. Our method allocates the optimal detection method to the corresponding code segment based on the quantitative results, thereby achieving a trade-off between reliability and performance. Experimental results show that the average energy efficiency of our trade-off method is 91.34%, which is 21.49% higher than the other methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Earth's radiation belts are extremely important for space weather because they can store and accelerate particles to relativistic energies, which can have a potential impact on satellite functionality, communications, and navigation systems. The FORESAIL consortium wants to measure these high-energy particle fluxes to understand the dynamics of the radiation belts with its satellite mission Foresail-2. The mission aims to measure magnetic ultra low frequency waves and the plasma environment in the magnetosphere around Earth. The captured data will help to improve our understanding of space weather, and in particular the dynamics of Earth's radiation belts during periods of large disturbances inside the magnetosphere. A mission design analysis and several trade-off studies are conducted to find the requirements for the science payloads and spacecraft avionics design. Deducted from these requirements, four different payloads are proposed to gather science data in a highly elliptical orbit such as a geostationary transfer orbit. The precision magnetometer uses flux-gate technology to measure magnetic waves from 1 mHz to 10 Hz. The spin scanning particle telescope is built around a detector stack to measure electron spectra in the range of 30 keV to 10 MeV. Additionally, this mission serves as a technology demonstrator for the Coulomb drag experiment which proposes a new kind of electric solar wind sail utilising the Coulomb drag force imposed onto a 300 m long tether. The fourth payload investigates multilayer radiation shielding and single event effects. All payloads will be supported by a newly developed 6U platform using mostly commercial off-the-shelf components. Its proposed avionics face several unique design requirements rising from the payloads and the preferred highly elliptical orbit for this mission. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The single event effect of FORMOSAT-7/COSMIC-2 recorded by the COTS GPS receiver. • The WSRs accumulate faster at higher altitude. • The WSRs occur concentratedly in the SAA and the drift of it can be estimated. • The border of the SAA could be described through the geomagnetic field strength. The FORMOSAT-7/COSMIC-2 (F7/C2) satellite constellation, a joint Taiwan-US collaboration mission, was launched on 25 June 2019. Following the FORMOSAT-3/COSMIC, the F7/C2 mission aims to provide global users the next-generation global navigation satellite system (GNSS) radio occultation data. The mission consists of six identical small satellites with an inclination angle of 24°, launched to the parking orbit of 720 km, and then transferred to the mission orbit of 550 km. Each satellite bus is equipped with two commercial off-the-shelf global positioning system receivers manufactured by Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. for positioning, navigation, and timing functions. This receiver generates "GPS Receiver (bus GPSR) Warm Start Requested (WSR)" messages after commissioning, which could be considered as a kind of single event effect (SEE). More than 7000 WSR events have been recorded in 3 years after launch, providing another opportunity to investigate the SEE with the commercial off-the-shelf bus GPSR. In addition, the F7/C2 mission is the first satellite constellation that allows scientists to investigate the SEE using the same constellation at different altitudes of Low-Earth orbit. This study investigates and discusses the cumulative rate, distribution of WSRs, and their relationships between altitude and geomagnetic field. The statistical method is applied to define a warning area of the high probability occurring the SEE of this kind of component based on the geomagnetic field, whose corresponding strength is around 21,200/20,550 nT and close to the South Atlantic Anomaly area. Moreover, the relationships with space weather, including the disturbance of the Earth's magnetic field (Kp index) and the solar activity (F10.7 index), are also analyzed and reported. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel partially depleted (PD) silicon-on-insulator (SOI) structure is realized by a modified process flow highlighting the improved radiation hardness. The key step to modifying the initial SOI wafers is neutron irradiation, followed by a standard post-irradiation laser annealing process that introduces localized traps with a deep level. The deep-level traps in the silicon film act as recombination centers that reduce the minority carrier lifetime effectively. A trap-rich layer is generated near the back interface after the wafer is exposed to neutron irradiation, followed by laser annealing to remove top defects. It is confirmed by simulation and experimental results that the body potential instability in PD devices, which may be introduced by high-electricalfield ionization and the single-event effect, has been efficiently suppressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Total ionizing dose (TID) irradiation impacts the device leakage currents or threshold voltage, which affects the single event transient (SET) vulnerability of electronics under radiation environment. SET response of SOI FinFET at 14 nm technology node after TID exposure is carried out at different dose level. Results show that the drain current peak presents a slight fluctuant with total dose, while the collected charge and the bipolar amplification coefficient first decrease with total dose and then increase. The potential reason is also discussed from competing mechanisms associated with decreasing threshold voltage from TID irradiation and increasing the drain diffuse current from the potential of the channel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The application of SiC power devices in the space radiation environment not only requires good resistance to Single Event Effect (SEE) but also requires certain resistance to Total Ionizing Dose (TID) and long-term reliability. Increasing the thickness of the gate oxide layer (tox) can effectively improve the ability of SiC VDMOS to resist SEE. However, it will mainly impact its resistance to TID and Gate Oxide Integrity (GOI). Therefore, this paper compares the influence of tox on the radiation resistance and long-term reliability of SiC VDMOS under the same process and irradiation conditions. The experimental results show that after being irradiated by Cobalt-60 γ-rays, the static parameters of SiC VDMOS devices degrade severely with the increase of the tox; at the same time, the thick gate oxide process will also cause more defects in the gate oxide, leading to the decrease of the gate oxide long-term reliability, but it can be significantly improved after high temperature (HT) accelerated annealing. The research results suggest that the method of increasing tox should take into account the requirements of TID resistance and long-term reliability when improving the SEE radiation resistance of SiC VDMOS. This study is based on the improvement of electrical parameters and the analysis of reliability degradation of SiC VDMOS, providing experimental data support for determining the balance point of tox. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Indoor dust (ID) is a source of peanut proteins and immunostimulatory adjuvants (e.g. LPS) that can promote airway sensitization to peanut. We aimed to determine whether a single airway exposure to peanut plus adjuvant is sufficient to prevent oral tolerance. Methods: To determine the effect of a single priming event, C57BL/6J mice were exposed once to peanut plus adjuvant through the airway, followed by either airway or low‐dose oral exposure to peanut, and assessed for peanut allergy. Oral tolerance was investigated by feeding high‐dose peanut followed by airway sensitization. To determine whether a single priming could prevent oral tolerance, the high‐dose peanut regimen was applied after a single airway exposure to peanut plus adjuvant. Peanut‐specific IgE and IgG1 were quantified, and mice were challenged to peanut to assess allergy. Peanut‐specific CD4+ memory T cells (CD4+TCRβ+CD44hiCD154+) were quantified in mediastinal lymph nodes following airway priming. Results: Mice co‐exposed to peanut with LPS or ID through the airway were primed to develop peanut allergy after subsequent low‐dose oral or airway exposures to peanut. Oral tolerance was induced in mice fed high‐dose peanut prior to airway sensitization. In contrast, mice fed high‐dose peanut following a single airway exposure to peanut plus adjuvant led to allergy. Peanut‐specific CD4+ memory T cells were detected as early as 7 days after the single airway priming with peanut plus adjuvant, however, delaying peanut feeding even 1 day following priming led to allergy, whereas peanut feeding the same day as priming led to tolerance. Conclusions: A single airway exposure to peanut plus adjuvant is sufficient to prime the immune system to develop allergy following subsequent high‐dose oral exposure. These results highlight the importance of introducing peanut as early as possible to prevent sensitization through a non‐oral priming event. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work presents a study on the reliability of voters for approximate fault tolerant systems in the context of single event effects and electromagnetic interference. A first case study analyses different topologies of single-bit majority voters for logic circuits employing fault injection by simulation. In these simulations, an analysis is first performed to identify the critical diffusion areas of the physical implementation according to the voter input vector. Additionally, as a second case study, practical heavy ion experiments on different architectures of software-based approximate voters for mixed-signal applications are also presented, and the cross section of each voter is evaluated. The system comprising the voters was irradiated in two distinct experiments with an 16 O ion beam, producing an effective LET at the active region of 5.5 MeV/mg/cm 2 . As a complementary study, a conducted electromagnetic interference injection was also performed, considering two distinct voting schemes. Results of the case-studies allow identifying the most tolerant voter architectures (among the studied ones) for approximate computing applications under single event effects and electromagnetic interference. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The research results of single event displacement effects in VLSI elements under the effect of neutron radiation are presented. The nonionizing energy losses in a sensitive microvolume of a VLSI element for the interaction of neutrons with silicon atoms are estimated. The influence of individual disordered regions and clusters of radiation defects on the performance of VLSIs are determined. The possibilities of fast annealing effects and the additive effects of increasing the reverse p–n junction currents of individual VLSI elements on the conditions for the occurrence of failures of the entire microcircuit are shown. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Atomic Energy Science & Technology is the property of Editorial Board of Atomic Energy Science & Technology and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Atomic Energy Science & Technology is the property of Editorial Board of Atomic Energy Science & Technology and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In this paper, the single event effect of 6T-SRAM is simulated at circuit level and device level based on a 22 nm fully depleted silicon-on-insulator (FDSOI) process, and the effects of charge sharing and bipolar amplification are considered in device-level simulation. The results demonstrate that, under the combined influence of these two effects, the circuit's upset threshold and critical charge decreased by 15.4% and 23.5%, respectively. This indicates that the charge sharing effect exacerbates the single event effects. By analyzing the incident conditions of two different incident radius particles, it is concluded that the particles with a smaller incident radius have a worse impact on the SRAM circuit, and are more likely to cause the single event upset in the circuit, indicating that the ionization distribution generated by the incident particle affects the charge collection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The impact of spacer on the single event response of SOI FinFET at 14 nm technology node is investigated. Based on the device TCAD model, well-calibrated by the experimental data, it is found that the spacer presents the enhancement on single event transient (SET) compared with no spacer configuration. For single spacer configuration, due to enhanced gate control capability and fringing field, the increments in SET current peak and collected charge for HfO2 are the least with 2.21%, 0.97%, respectively. Four possible dual ferroelectric spacer configurations are proposed. The placement of ferroelectric spacer at S side and HfO2 spacer at D side brings to weaken SET with the variation in current peak and collected charge by 6.93%, 1.86%, respectively. The reason may be its enhanced gate controllability over the S/D extension region, which improves the driven current. With linear energy transfer increasing, SET current peak and collected charge present the trend of increase while the bipolar amplification coefficient reduces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper mainly carries out research on TFET device based on FDSOI. The simulations were performed at the single event transient effect (SET), The effects of The high-energy particles from different positions, different incident depths and different incident angles, and the mechanism of charge collection in the sensitive position are analyzed, the effects of different bias voltages on SET is discussed. Finally, a device-level Radiation-Hardened technique for SET of the device is proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The atmospheric neutron induced single event burnout (SEB) is observed for SiC MOSFETs by conducting irradiation at China Spallation Neutron Source (CSNS) with maximum energy close to 1.6 GeV. The failure is manifested as a sudden loss of voltage blocking ability during irradiation and a melting region is observed for the device with SEB. The SEB failure rates of SiC MOSFETs are calculated based on the experimental results. It shows that the failure rates increase exponentially with operating voltages. The measured failure rates are consistent with the results obtained at the other spallation neutron sources, which proves that the neutron beam line at CSNS is suitable for SEB testing. The information of the secondary ions produced by neutron is obtained through Monte Carlo simulations and the contributors to SEB are analyzed. A simulation method is also applied to calculate SEB failure rate by considering ionization energy deposition of secondary ions in the sensitive region of SiC devices. The simulated failure rates are also consistent with the experimental results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work presents an experimental study of heavy-ion irradiation with different particle linear energy transfer (LET), gate biases, and drain biases. The results reveal that when the irradiation biases are low, the SiC MOSFET does not experience single event effect (SEE) and the electrical properties remain unchanged (the devices are in the safe operating area (SOA)). However, the oxide breakdown voltage of the device is significantly decreased due to the latent damage generated by the irradiation. The experimental results, along with TCAD simulations, suggest that the latent damage induced by the irradiation in the gate oxide is closely related to the peak electric field in the gate oxide at the time of particle incidence. This peak electric field is determined by the potential difference between the two sides of the gate oxide, which is affected by the particle LET, gate biases, and drain biases together. The high potential is determined by the combined effect of the LET and the drain-source voltage. The impact ionization of the particle by the applied electric field causes the accumulation of holes in the JFET oxide, which leads to a decrease in the doping of the N− epitaxial layer and eventually causes a rise in the high potential near the JFET oxide. The low potential is determined by the gate bias, and the negative bias applied to the gate can further increase the potential difference between the two sides of the oxide, causing an increase in the peak electric field in the gate oxide and aggravating the gate oxide damage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-energy particles in space often induce single event effects in CMOS image sensors, resulting in performance degradation and functional failure. This paper focuses on the formation and morphology of transient bright spots in CMOS image sensors and analyzes the formation process of transient bright spots by conducting heavy ion irradiation experiments to obtain the variation law of transient bright spots with heavy ion linear energy transfer values and background gray values; in addition, we classify the single event upset that occurred in the experiments according to the state of transient bright spots and extract the characteristics of different single event upsets. The failure mechanisms of different single event upsets are analyzed according to their characteristics and are combined with the information given by transient bright spots. This provides an essential reference for rapidly evaluating single event effects and the reinforcement design of CMOS image sensors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The total ionizing dose (TID) effect significantly impacts the electrical parameters of fully depleted silicon on insulator (FDSOI) devices and even invalidates the on–off function of devices. At present, most of the irradiation research on the circuit level is focused on the single event effect, and there is very little research on the total ionizing dose effect. Therefore, this study mainly analyzes the influence of TID effects on a CMOS inverter circuit based on 22 nm FDSOI transistors. First, we constructed and calibrated an N-type FDSOI metal-oxide semiconductor (NMOS) structure and P-type FDSOI metal-oxide semiconductor (PMOS) structure. The transfer characteristics and trapped charge distribution of these devices were studied under different irradiation doses. Next, we studied the TID effect on an inverter circuit composed of these two MOS transistors. The simulation results show that when the radiation dose was 400 krad (Si), the logic threshold drift of the inverter was approximately 0.052 V. These results help further investigate the impact on integrated circuits in an irradiation environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A fully depleted silicon-on-insulator (FDSOI) device is a promising structure for future ultrascaled devices because of its high radiation resistance. The buried oxide (BOX) layer of an FDSOI device not only enhances its robustness against single event effects (SEE) but also greatly reduces its ability to resist the effect of the total ionizing dose (TID). We studied factors such as the thickness of BOX layers and the bias state of FDSOI devices and proposed a 22 nm N-type FDSOI 2D device structure. The method of adding fixed charges to the BOX layer and adding state charges to the interface was used to simulate the TID effect. We showed that the thinner the BOX layer, the better the device's ability to resist the effects of the TID. Increasing the total radiation dose causes the electron density of the channel to increase, indicating that the electron mobility of the channel is degraded. Because a large number of electrons are generated by irradiation, their density increases, causing a large number of electrons to collide with each other and scatter under a bias voltage, resulting in decreased electron mobility. By activating the built-in radiation model of the Sentaurus next-generation technology computer-aided design (TCAD) simulation tool, the device was used to simulate the TID effect under different doses in different bias states (OFF, ON, and transmission). The results showed that the most unappealing bias state of the TID effect for the short-channel N-type FDSOI device is the off state. This research provides new insights into the TID for FDSOI devices and can provide guidelines for future applications of radiation-hardened FDSOI-based circuits. The study of single particle effects plays an important role in the study of image sensors in space stations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]