GB2298737A - Radiation hardened electronic device - Google Patents
Radiation hardened electronic device Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- GB2298737A GB2298737A GB9602889A GB9602889A GB2298737A GB 2298737 A GB2298737 A GB 2298737A GB 9602889 A GB9602889 A GB 9602889A GB 9602889 A GB9602889 A GB 9602889A GB 2298737 A GB2298737 A GB 2298737A
- Authority
- GB
- United Kingdom
- Prior art keywords
- silicon
- radiation
- electronic device
- germanium
- tin
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Withdrawn
Links
- 230000005855 radiation Effects 0.000 title claims description 15
- XUIMIQQOPSSXEZ-UHFFFAOYSA-N Silicon Chemical compound [Si] XUIMIQQOPSSXEZ-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 claims description 16
- 239000010703 silicon Substances 0.000 claims description 16
- 229910052710 silicon Inorganic materials 0.000 claims description 15
- GNPVGFCGXDBREM-UHFFFAOYSA-N germanium atom Chemical compound [Ge] GNPVGFCGXDBREM-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 claims description 9
- 229910052732 germanium Inorganic materials 0.000 claims description 8
- ATJFFYVFTNAWJD-UHFFFAOYSA-N Tin Chemical compound [Sn] ATJFFYVFTNAWJD-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 claims description 7
- 239000000463 material Substances 0.000 claims description 6
- 239000004065 semiconductor Substances 0.000 claims description 6
- 239000002245 particle Substances 0.000 description 3
- 238000000137 annealing Methods 0.000 description 2
- 230000007547 defect Effects 0.000 description 2
- 239000000758 substrate Substances 0.000 description 2
- ZOXJGFHDIHLPTG-UHFFFAOYSA-N Boron Chemical compound [B] ZOXJGFHDIHLPTG-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 1
- 229910000927 Ge alloy Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- 229910000676 Si alloy Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- 239000004411 aluminium Substances 0.000 description 1
- 229910052782 aluminium Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- XAGFODPZIPBFFR-UHFFFAOYSA-N aluminium Chemical compound [Al] XAGFODPZIPBFFR-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 1
- 229910052785 arsenic Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- -1 arsenic ions Chemical class 0.000 description 1
- 230000015572 biosynthetic process Effects 0.000 description 1
- 229910052796 boron Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- 239000002800 charge carrier Substances 0.000 description 1
- 238000005468 ion implantation Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000005865 ionizing radiation Effects 0.000 description 1
- 150000002500 ions Chemical class 0.000 description 1
- 229910052751 metal Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- 239000002184 metal Substances 0.000 description 1
- 238000012544 monitoring process Methods 0.000 description 1
Classifications
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
- H01L31/00—Semiconductor devices sensitive to infrared radiation, light, electromagnetic radiation of shorter wavelength or corpuscular radiation and specially adapted either for the conversion of the energy of such radiation into electrical energy or for the control of electrical energy by such radiation; Processes or apparatus specially adapted for the manufacture or treatment thereof or of parts thereof; Details thereof
- H01L31/0248—Semiconductor devices sensitive to infrared radiation, light, electromagnetic radiation of shorter wavelength or corpuscular radiation and specially adapted either for the conversion of the energy of such radiation into electrical energy or for the control of electrical energy by such radiation; Processes or apparatus specially adapted for the manufacture or treatment thereof or of parts thereof; Details thereof characterised by their semiconductor bodies
- H01L31/0256—Semiconductor devices sensitive to infrared radiation, light, electromagnetic radiation of shorter wavelength or corpuscular radiation and specially adapted either for the conversion of the energy of such radiation into electrical energy or for the control of electrical energy by such radiation; Processes or apparatus specially adapted for the manufacture or treatment thereof or of parts thereof; Details thereof characterised by their semiconductor bodies characterised by the material
- H01L31/0264—Inorganic materials
- H01L31/0312—Inorganic materials including, apart from doping materials or other impurities, only AIVBIV compounds, e.g. SiC
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
- H01L31/00—Semiconductor devices sensitive to infrared radiation, light, electromagnetic radiation of shorter wavelength or corpuscular radiation and specially adapted either for the conversion of the energy of such radiation into electrical energy or for the control of electrical energy by such radiation; Processes or apparatus specially adapted for the manufacture or treatment thereof or of parts thereof; Details thereof
- H01L31/08—Semiconductor devices sensitive to infrared radiation, light, electromagnetic radiation of shorter wavelength or corpuscular radiation and specially adapted either for the conversion of the energy of such radiation into electrical energy or for the control of electrical energy by such radiation; Processes or apparatus specially adapted for the manufacture or treatment thereof or of parts thereof; Details thereof in which radiation controls flow of current through the device, e.g. photoresistors
- H01L31/10—Semiconductor devices sensitive to infrared radiation, light, electromagnetic radiation of shorter wavelength or corpuscular radiation and specially adapted either for the conversion of the energy of such radiation into electrical energy or for the control of electrical energy by such radiation; Processes or apparatus specially adapted for the manufacture or treatment thereof or of parts thereof; Details thereof in which radiation controls flow of current through the device, e.g. photoresistors characterised by at least one potential-jump barrier or surface barrier, e.g. phototransistors
- H01L31/115—Devices sensitive to very short wavelength, e.g. X-rays, gamma-rays or corpuscular radiation
Description
Radiation-Hardened Electronic Device
The invention relates to the use of a particular type of semiconductor material for making an electronic device so that the device is hardened against the effects of radiation, and to electronic devices which are hardened in this manner.
Many electronic devices are made of silicon, by doping different regions to obtain different electronic properties. However if a silicon device is irradiated, for example by ions, by neutrons, or by electrons, this can generate defects such as vacancies or interstitial atoms. If many such defects are created the electronic properties of the silicon itself, and so of the device, may be considerably altered. As an extreme example, if a region of a n-type high resistivity silicon experiences a dose of fast neutrons above about 10 cm it is believed to invert to become p-type.
Accordingly the present invention proposes the use of silicon alloyed or doped with germanium or tin as the material from which an electronic device is to be made, in order to obtain a device hardened against the effects of radiation.
The invention also proposes that for an electronic device to be exposed to high doses of radiation the device should be formed from high resistiviy silicon alloyed or doped with germanium or tin so as to be radiation hardened.
Germanium and tin are isoelectronic with silicon, so they do not effect the electron bands or levels within the material. They are however both larger atoms than silicon, so their presence stresses the lattice. It is believed that they suppress the mobility of vacancies caused by irradiation of the device, and so inhibit the formation of aggregates of vacancies which are believed to cause the changes in electronic properties.
The proportion of germanium (or tin) to silicon might be between 0.1% and 20%, preferably 1% to 10%, for example 2% or 5%. The invention is applicable to a wide range of different electronic devices1 but is in particular suited to making radiation detectors which may be exposed to high doses of defect-generating radiation.
The invention will now be further and more particularly described by way of example only, and with reference to the accompanying drawing which shows a diagrammatic cross-sectional view through a planar diode radiation detector.
The detector 10 consists of a 70 mm by 30 mm rectangular wafer 12 of silicon/germanium alloy initially n-type and of high resistivity (in the range 1 to 10 kn cm), the proportion of germanium being 10%. The wafer 12 is about 300 pm thick. The rear surface is implanted with arsenic ions, typically at 30 keV and 5 x 10 cm so as to generate an n region 14, and after annealing, this is provided with an aluminium contact 16. On the top surface a large number of p strips 18 are produced b doping with boron, again by ion implantation, typically at 15 keV and 5 x 10 cm . The strips 18 extend the whole length of the wafer 12, each is 15 pm wide, and there are 20 pm gaps between one strip 18 and the next across the width of the wafer 12.The portions of the wafer surface between the strips 18 are provided with a 1 Rm thick layer 20 of oxide. After annealing, the strips 18 are provided with metal strip contacts 22.
In operation the rear contact 16 is biased positively, so that the regions of the wafer 12 between each strip 18 and the rear contact constitute reversebiased diodes, and there is a depletion zone throughout the thickness of the wafer 12. If a particle of ionizing radiation passes through the detector 10 it creates charge carriers in the depletion zone, so a pulse of current will flow to the immediately adjacent strips 18.
Hence by monitoring the current (or charge) in leads connected to the strip contacts 22 the presence of the ionizing particle is detected, and the portion of the detector 10 through which the particle passed can be determined.
If such a detector 10 but of pure silicon is used in any region in which it is also subjected to neutron radiation, it has been found that for fast neutron doses
1 n above about 10 cm the electrical properties of the detector 10 are considerably altered. It is believed that the damage caused to the silicon wafer causes it to undergo type-inversion, to become p-type. In contrast the detector 10 of the invention contains germanium atoms within the silicon lattice, which stress the lattice.
They suppress this type-inversion, so that the detector 10 can withstand a much higher dose of neutrons before its electrical properties are altered.
It will be appreciated that the detailed design of the electronic device (in the above example, the detector 10) is not an essential aspect of the invention, as the invention is applicable to any electronic device which is made on a semiconductor substrate where it is desired to suppress the effect of radiation damage on the electronic properties of the semiconductor material. However it is also apparent that the invention is of greatest relevance to electronic devices which utilize high-resistivity substrate material (say above 1 kQ cm), and hence is of particular relevance to semiconductor radiation detectors.
Claims (5)
1. The use of silicon alloyed or doped with germanium or tin as the material from which an electronic device is to be made, in order to obtain a device hardened against the effects of radiation.
2. The use as claimed in Claim 1 wherein the proportion of germanium or tin to silicon is between 0.1% and 20%.
3. The use as claimed in Claim 2 wherein the said proportion is between 1% and 10%.
4. A semiconductor radiation detector which is made of silicon alloyed or doped with germanium or tin, so that it is hardened against the effects of high doses of defect-generating radiation.
5. A semiconductor radiation detector substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to, and as shown in, the accompanying drawing.
Priority Applications (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| GB9602889A GB2298737A (en) | 1995-03-07 | 1996-02-13 | Radiation hardened electronic device |
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| GBGB9504557.1A GB9504557D0 (en) | 1995-03-07 | 1995-03-07 | Radiation-hardened electronic device |
| GB9602889A GB2298737A (en) | 1995-03-07 | 1996-02-13 | Radiation hardened electronic device |
Publications (2)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| GB9602889D0 GB9602889D0 (en) | 1996-04-10 |
| GB2298737A true GB2298737A (en) | 1996-09-11 |
Family
ID=26306628
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| GB9602889A Withdrawn GB2298737A (en) | 1995-03-07 | 1996-02-13 | Radiation hardened electronic device |
Country Status (1)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| GB (1) | GB2298737A (en) |
Cited By (2)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EP0911881A2 (en) * | 1997-10-20 | 1999-04-28 | General Electric Company | Semiconductor diode array having radiation degradation retardation means |
| FR2783635A1 (en) * | 1998-09-17 | 2000-03-24 | Inst Franco Allemand De Rech D | METHOD OF HARDENING A DETECTOR IN SEMICONDUCTOR MATERIAL |
Citations (1)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GB2086135A (en) * | 1980-09-30 | 1982-05-06 | Nippon Telegraph & Telephone | Electrode and semiconductor device provided with the electrode |
-
1996
- 1996-02-13 GB GB9602889A patent/GB2298737A/en not_active Withdrawn
Patent Citations (1)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GB2086135A (en) * | 1980-09-30 | 1982-05-06 | Nippon Telegraph & Telephone | Electrode and semiconductor device provided with the electrode |
Non-Patent Citations (6)
| Title |
|---|
| INSPEC abstract no A73000306 & Nuclear Instruments & Methodsv104,no3,1/11/72,P Alexander,pp597-604. * |
| INSPEC abstract no A87023180 & "18th IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conf."1985,IEEE, JJ Hanak. * |
| INSPEC abstract no A90003222 & M Stavola "Defects in Electr.Materials Symp.",1988,Mat.Res.Soc,p641-4 * |
| INSPEC abstract no B90003222 & Diffusion and Defect Data - Solid State Data,B,v6-7,1989,p143-58. * |
| INSPEC abstract no B9210-2570D-002 & IEEE Int.SOI Conf.Proc,1991,IEEE,pp112-3,EE King, "SiGe etch". * |
| INSPEC abstract no B9510-2560J-006 & IEEE Elec.Dev.Lett,v16,no8,Aug95,JA Babcock,"SiGe HBTs"pp351-3. * |
Cited By (3)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EP0911881A2 (en) * | 1997-10-20 | 1999-04-28 | General Electric Company | Semiconductor diode array having radiation degradation retardation means |
| EP0911881A3 (en) * | 1997-10-20 | 1999-11-10 | General Electric Company | Semiconductor diode array having radiation degradation retardation means |
| FR2783635A1 (en) * | 1998-09-17 | 2000-03-24 | Inst Franco Allemand De Rech D | METHOD OF HARDENING A DETECTOR IN SEMICONDUCTOR MATERIAL |
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| GB9602889D0 (en) | 1996-04-10 |
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Legal Events
| Date | Code | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| WAP | Application withdrawn, taken to be withdrawn or refused ** after publication under section 16(1) |