Power MOSFETs are often required to operate in a space radiation environment; therefore, they are susceptible to a catastrophic failure mode called single-event burnout. Single-event burnout of power MOSFETs is initiated by the passage of an energetic-heavy ion through the parasitic BJT inherent to the power-MOSFET structure. The electron-hole pairs generated by the ion support a short-lived current source which imposes a base-emitter voltage on the parasitic BJT. If a sufficient base-emitter voltage is imposed, the parasitic BJT enters second breakdown and burnout of the MOSFET occurs. A semi-analytical model has been developed to predict the energy required of the incident ion to initiate burnout. This thesis addresses the portion of this model which relates the energy of the incident ion to the base-emitter voltage imposed on the parasitic BJT. The initial base-emitter potential is determined using image-source techniques.
Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:arizona.edu/oai:arizona.openrepository.com:10150/277796 |
Date | January 1990 |
Creators | Johnson, Gregory Howard, 1965- |
Contributors | Hohl, Jakob |
Publisher | The University of Arizona. |
Source Sets | University of Arizona |
Language | en_US |
Detected Language | English |
Type | text, Thesis-Reproduction (electronic) |
Rights | Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. |
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