Mechanisms for radiation dose-rate sensitivity of bipolar transistors

Abstract

Mechanisms for enhanced low-dose-rate sensitivity are described. In these mechanisms, bimolecular reactions dominate the kinetics at high dose rates thereby causing a sub-linear dependence on total dose, and this leads to a dose-rate dependence. These bimolecular mechanisms include electron-hole recombination, hydrogen recapture at hydrogen source sites, and hydrogen dimerization to form hydrogen molecules. The essence of each of these mechanisms is the dominance of the bimolecular reactions over the radiolysis reaction at high dose rates. However, at low dose rates, the radiolysis reaction dominates leading to a maximum effect of the radiation.