Title:  Qualifying Silicon-germanium Electronics for Harsh Radiation Environments

Committee: 

Dr. Cressler, Advisor    

Dr. Yoder, Chair

Dr. Vogel

Abstract:

The objective of the proposed research is to investigate radiation hardness concerns for Silicon-Germanium Heterojunction Bipolar Transistors (SiGe HBTs) being operated in harsh radiation environments (such as the Jovian space environment). Topics included in this proposal cover device operation of SiGe HBTs, basic radiation effect mechanisms, the impact of radiation on SiGe HBTs, the origin and location of harsh radiation environments, and provides a background of experimental testing methods used to conduct radiation effects experiments. The major aims of this work are the following: 1) to analyze and improve upon the design of inverse-mode (IM) SiGe HBTs for radiation mitigation and 2) to improve the correlation of heavy-ion and laser charge injection techniques using TCAD modeling in custom-designed diode and SiGe HBT test structures.