Title:  Qualifying Silicon-germanium Electronics for Harsh Radiation Environments

Committee:

Dr. John Cressler, ECE, Chair , Advisor

Dr. Doug Yoder, ECE

Dr. Eric Vogel, MSE

Dr. Muhannad Bakir, ECE

Dr. Britney Schmidt, EAS

Abstract:

This work investigates silicon-germanium heterojunction bipolar transistors (SiGe HBTs) for radiation-intense applications and spaceflight hardware consideration. Both total ionizing dose and single-event effects are discussed. The first ever implementation of radiation-hardening-by-process (RHBP) in SiGe HBTs is presented. Experimental results and 3D modeling efforts from this research is leveraged to advance the use of two-photon absorption pulsed-laser experimentation in place of standard heavy-ion testing with a particle accelerator.