Title:  Ionizing radiation effects and damage mechanisms in SiGe BiCMOS technology

Committee: 

Dr. Cressler, Advisor     

Dr. Ansari, Chair

Dr. Yu

Abstract: The objective of the proposed research is to understand, model, and mitigate ionizing radiation damages in SiGe HBT devices and circuits for space applications. Radiation can interfere with the electronics of a spacecraft and cause damages from data corruption to mission failure. Therefore, it is important to understand the damage mechanisms and mitigate them. The proposed research will study 1) the effects of ambient temperature, particularly elevated temperature on radiation response, 2) provide an in-depth understanding of the damage mechanisms using a TCAD model, 3) investigate how a device response translates to circuit response, and 4) investigate an alternative source for radiation testing.