Radiation effects on power integrated circuits

A study was initiated to investigate the effects of gamma (total ionizing dose), prompt gamma (gamma-dot), and neutron radiation on commercially available power integrated circuits. A dielectric-isolated bipolar-CMOS-DMOS (BCDMOS) technology was selected for this characterization. Total-ionizing-dose testing resulted in device failure at 30 krad(Si). Gamma-dot testing (30-ns pulsewidth) resulted in device failure due to transient upset of the CMOS logic at 10/sup 9/ rads(Si)/s. Neutron testing resulted in severe degradation in performance, but devices remained functional after receiving a fluence of 2*10/sup 14/ n/cm/sup 2/. An attempt was made to harden the BCDMOS technology to gamma radiation. >