Radiation Risks and Mitigation in Electronic Systems

Electrical and electronic systems can be disturbed by radiation-induced effects. In some cases, radiation-induced effects are of a low probability and can be ignored; however, radiation effects must be considered when designing systems that have a high mean time to failure requirement, an impact on protection, and/or higher exposure to radiation. High-energy physics power systems suffer from a combination of these effects: a high mean time to failure is required, failure can impact on protection, and the proximity of systems to accelerators increases the likelihood of radiation-induced events. This paper presents the principal radiation-induced effects, and radiation environments typical to high-energy physics. It outlines a procedure for designing and validating radiation-tolerant systems using commercial off-the-shelf components. The paper ends with a worked example of radiation-tolerant power converter controls that are being developed for the Large Hadron Collider and High Luminosity-Large Hadron Collider at CERN.Comment: 19 pages, contribution to the 2014 CAS - CERN Accelerator School: Power Converters, Baden, Switzerland, 7-14 May 201

Inverter design for future electrified aircraft propulsion systems under consideration of wear-out failure and random failure

To reduce the wear-out effect and minimize the Single Event Burnout effect of the power semiconductor, several hardware design rules for inverters in electric aircraft propulsion systems are posed and implemented in this work. These strategies include scalable chip area and derated DC-link voltage. It is observed in a short-range reference aircraft case study that these rules could result in a conflict of objectives: reducing the risk of wear-out failure while simultaneously minimizing the risk of random failure. Therefore, it is recommended to consider random failures, wear-out failures, and their mutual impacts in a comprehensive analysis of system reliability. A reliability-oriented design rule is proposed in this work

Accelerated tests on Si and SiC power transistors with thermal, fastand ultra-fast neutrons

Neutron test campaigns on silicon (Si) and silicon carbide (SiC) power MOSFETs and IGBTs were conducted at the TRIGA (Training, Research, Isotopes, General Atomics) Mark II (Pavia, Italy) nuclear reactor and ChipIr-ISIS Neutron and Muon Source (Didcot, U.K.) facility. About 2000 power transistors made by STMicroelectronics were tested in all the experiments. Tests with thermal and fast neutrons (up to about 10 MeV) at the TRIGA Mark II reactor showed that single-event burnout (SEB) failures only occurred at voltages close to the rated drain-source voltage. Thermal neutrons did not induce SEB, nor degradation in the electrical parameters of the devices. SEB failures during testing at ChipIr with ultra-fast neutrons (1-800 MeV) were evaluated in terms of failure in time (FIT) versus derating voltage curves according to the JEP151 procedure of the Joint Electron Device Engineering Council (JEDEC). These curves, even if scaled with die size and avalanche voltage, were strongly linked to the technological processes of the devices, although a common trend was observed that highlighted commonalities among the failures of different types of MOSFETs. In both experiments, we observed only SEB failures without single-event gate rupture (SEGR) during the tests. None of the power devices that survived the neutron tests were degraded in their electrical performances. A study of the worst-case bias condition (gate and/or drain) during irradiation was performed

Accelerated Tests on Si and SiC Power Transistors with Thermal, Fast and Ultra-Fast Neutrons

Neutron test campaigns on silicon (Si) and silicon carbide (SiC) power MOSFETs and IGBTs were conducted at the TRIGA (Training, Research, Isotopes, General Atomics) Mark II (Pavia, Italy) nuclear reactor and ChipIr-ISIS Neutron and Muon Source (Didcot, U.K.) facility. About 2000 power transistors made by STMicroelectronics were tested in all the experiments. Tests with thermal and fast neutrons (up to about 10 MeV) at the TRIGA Mark II reactor showed that single-event burnout (SEB) failures only occurred at voltages close to the rated drain-source voltage. Thermal neutrons did not induce SEB, nor degradation in the electrical parameters of the devices. SEB failures during testing at ChipIr with ultra-fast neutrons (1-800 MeV) were evaluated in terms of failure in time (FIT) versus derating voltage curves according to the JEP151 procedure of the Joint Electron Device Engineering Council (JEDEC). These curves, even if scaled with die size and avalanche voltage, were strongly linked to the technological processes of the devices, although a common trend was observed that highlighted commonalities among the failures of different types of MOSFETs. In both experiments, we observed only SEB failures without single-event gate rupture (SEGR) during the tests. None of the power devices that survived the neutron tests were degraded in their electrical performances. A study of the worst-case bias condition (gate and/or drain) during irradiation was performed

A survey of space radiation effects

The effects of space radiation and its significance for space missions, as they increase in scope, duration, and complexity are discussed. Type of radiation hazard may depend on location or on special equipment used. It is emphasized that it is necessary to search for potential radiation problems in the design stage of a mission. Problem areas such as radiation damage to solar cells and the revolutionary advances are discussed. Radiation effect to electronics components other than solar cells, and several specialized areas such as radioactivity and luminescence are also examined

Formulation of Single Event Burnout Failure Rate for High Voltage Devices in Satellite Electrical Power System

Single-Event Burnout (SEB) is a catastrophic failure in the high voltage devices that is initiated by the passage of particles during turn-off state. Previous papers reported that SEB failure rate increases sharply when applied voltage exceeds a certain threshold voltage. On the other hand, the high voltage devices for the artificial satellite have been increasing. In space, due to increase flux of particle, it is predicted that SEB failure rate will be higher. In this paper, we proposed the failure rate calculation method for high voltage devices based on SEB cross section and flux of particles. This formula can calculate the failure rate at space level and terrestrial level depending on the applied voltage of the high voltage devices.2017 29th International Symposium on Power Semiconductor Devices and IC\u27s (ISPSD), May 28 2017-June 1 2017, Sapporo, Japa

Study of proton radiation effects on solar vehicle electronic system

Radiation effects on electronic equipment of solar spacecraft - shielding requirement

Investigation of the impact of neutron irradiation on SiC power MOSFETs lifetime by reliability tests

High temperature reverse-bias (HTRB), High temperature gate-bias (HTGB) tests and electrical DC characterization were performed on planar-SiC power MOSFETs which survived to accelerated neutron irradiation tests carried out at ChipIr-ISIS (Didcot, UK) facility, with terrestrial neutrons. The neutron test campaigns on the SiC power MOSFETs (manufactered by ST) were con-ducted on the same wafer lot devices by STMicroelectronics and Airbus, with different neutron tester systems. HTGB and HTRB tests, which characterise gate-oxide integrity and junction robustness, show no difference between the non irradiated devices and those which survived to the neutron irradiation tests, with neutron fluence up to 2 × 1011 (n/cm2). Electrical characterization performed pre and post-irradiation on different part number of power devices (Si, SiC MOSFETs and IGBTs) which survived to neutron irradiation tests does not show alteration of the data-sheet electrical parameters due to neutron interaction with the device