A fully embedded Silicon On Insulator Total Ionizing Dose monitor

Abstract

Total ionizing dose (TID) effect is a kind of radiation effects. It’s related with the charge build up in the insulator caused by the radiation. This radiation induced charge build up will pose reliability issue and is a big concern.

Sometimes real time knowledge of the total dose level is necessary. Traditional methods measure the radiation induced threshold voltage shift, which is directly related with the total dose level. Such methods include the discrete PMOS RadFET and delay locked loop circuit. However they are either hard to integrate with the scaling of technology or requires complicated circuit and curve fitting. Moreover, the detection range is very limited and the linearity is poor.

In contrast, the leakage current measurement circuit is easy to build and have a wide detection range as well as the good linearity. So it’s taken here. After the integration of all the components, a key question that needs to answer is whether the fully integrated TID monitor will work or not, especially when both the sensing device and measurement circuit are exposed to radiation. This thesis presents a validation of the argument that in a certain range, it would work.