Gamma-ray irradiation effects on high-power diodes and bipolar transistors

Abstract The effects of the total-dose radiation on the leakage current of high-power diodes and on the current gain of three types of discrete bipolar commercial transistors have been investigated. The degradation of the current gain was measured as a function of the total dose. It drastically decreased with irradiation. However, the leakage current of irradiated diodes decreased slightly with irradiation. The annealing of the irradiated devices, at room temperature, was also tested.