Gamma Irradiation Performance Tests of the Bipolar Junction Transistor (BJT) for Medical Dosimetry Purposes

چکیده مقاله

Radiation-resistant electronics have been integral to the aerospace, nuclear reactor for many years, but only rather recently have they become important for particle accelerators and accelerator-based experiments. Generally two basic radiation damage mechanisms may affect semiconductor devices which are Displacement damage and Ionization damage. In displacement damage mechanism, the incident radiation displaces silicon atoms from their lattice sites . The resulting defects alter the electronic characteristics of the crystal. In ionization damage mechanism, the absorbed energy by electronic ionization in insulating layers liberates charge carriers, which diffuse or drift to other locations where they are trapped, leading to unintended concentrations of charge and, as a consequence, parasitic fields . Both mechanisms are important in detectors, transistors and integrated circuits. Hardly a system is immune to either one phenomenon and most are sensitive to both. This paper investigates the behavior of Bipolar Junction Transistors (BJTs), exposed to radiation in order to establish their applicability in a radiation environment.