Recent work for the NASA Electronic Parts and Packaging Program Power MOSFET task is presented. The Task technology focus, roadmap, and partners are given. Recent single-event effect test results on commercial, automotive, and radiation hardened trench power MOSFETs are summarized with an emphasis on risk of using commercial and automotive trench-gate power MOSFETs in space applications

Campola, Michael

Casey, Megan

Kim, Hak

Label, Kenneth

Ladbury, Raymond

Lauenstein, Jean-Marie

Phan, Anthony

Topper, Alyson

Wilcox, Ted

NASA Technical Reports Server

Silicon Power MOSFETs
Jean-Marie Lauenstein, Megan Casey, Mike Campola, Ray 
Ladbury, and Ken LaBel - NASA/GSFC
Ted Wilcox, Anthony Phan, Hak Kim, and Alyson Topper, 
AS&D, Inc.
1To be presented by Jean-Marie Lauenstein at the NASA Electronics Parts and Packaging (NEPP) Electronics Technology Workshop (ETW), Greenbelt, MD, June 26-29, 2017.
Acknowledgment:
This work was sponsored by:
NASA Office of Safety & Mission Assurance
in collaboration with:
NASA Engineering and Safety Center
https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20170006041 2019-08-31T07:23:21+00:00Z
Abbreviations & Acronyms
2To be presented by Jean-Marie Lauenstein at the NASA Electronics Parts and Packaging (NEPP) Electronics Technology Workshop (ETW), Greenbelt, MD, June 26-29, 2017.
Acronym Definition 
BVDSS
Drain-Source Breakdown 
Voltage
COTS Commercial Off The Shelf 
EEE Electrical, Electronic, and Electromechanical 
ETW Electronics Technology Workshop 
FY Fiscal Year 
GCR Galactic Cosmic Ray 
ID Drain Current
IDSS
Drain-Source Leakage
Current
IG Gate Current
LBNL Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory cyclotron facility
LET Linear Energy Transfer
MOSFET Metal Oxide Semiconductor Field Effect Transistor
NEPP NASA Electronic Parts and Packaging
Acronym Definition 
NESC NASA Engineering & Safety Center
PIGS Post Irradiation Gate Stress
RHA Radiation Hardness Assurance
RTN Random Telegraph Noise
Si Silicon
SJ Superjunction
SOA State Of the Art
SWAP Size, Weight, And Power
TAMU Texas A&M University cyclotron facility
TID Total Ionizing Dose
VDMOS Vertical Double-diffused MOSFET
VDS Drain-Source Voltage
VGS Gate-Source Voltage
VTH Gate Threshold Voltage
Outline
• Power MOSFET Task & Technology Focus
• Task Roadmap & Partners
• Recent Results
• Summary & Comments
3To be presented by Jean-Marie Lauenstein at the NASA Electronics Parts and Packaging (NEPP) Electronics Technology Workshop (ETW), Greenbelt, MD, June 26-29, 2017.
Trench-style MOSFETs
offer application-targeted 
performance enhancements
but are more vulnerable to 
ion-induced TID degradation
Lauenstein, IEEE REDW 2013
Silicon Power MOSFET Technology
4To be presented by Jean-Marie Lauenstein at the NASA Electronics Parts and Packaging (NEPP) Electronics Technology Workshop (ETW), Greenbelt, MD, June 26-29, 2017.
Planar Gate VDMOS
Dominates rad-hardened 
offerings
Prior NEPP efforts helped 
to expand market
Trench Gate VDMOS
Dominates COTS lower-V
applications
Only 1 rad-hardened offering
Superjunction (SJ) VDMOS
COTS competes with IGBTs
Near-term availability of rad-
hardened options for 100V-650V 
(100V – 250V out now…for a $$)
Trench SJ VDMOS
Emerging technology
Drawings from:
Lauenstein, IEEE REDW 2013
Silicon Power MOSFET Technology
• NEPP task focuses on RHA of state-of-the-art 
Si power MOSFETs offering competitive edge 
over older planar gate VDMOS
5To be presented by Jean-Marie Lauenstein at the NASA Electronics Parts and Packaging (NEPP) Electronics Technology Workshop (ETW), Greenbelt, MD, June 26-29, 2017.
Trench Gate VDMOS
Dominates COTS lower-V
applications
Only 1 rad-hardened offering
Superjunction (SJ) VDMOS
COTS competes with IGBTs
Near-term availability of rad-
hardened options for 100V-650V 
applications
Trench SJ VDMOS
Emerging technology
 Game-changing NASA approaches are demanding 
higher-performance power electronics
 SWAP benefits for existing technologies 
Conclusions:  We must understand risks of COTS/Auto options;
We must foster industry partnerships to develop 
rad-hardened options when feasible
Motivational Factors
6To be presented by Jean-Marie Lauenstein at the NASA Electronics Parts and Packaging (NEPP) Electronics Technology Workshop (ETW), Greenbelt, MD, June 26-29, 2017.
Images courtesy of NASA
CubeSATs
Commercial 
SpaceSolar Electric 
Propulsion
High Voltage Instruments
NEPP Collaborations
 Informal relationships include assisting end-users:
– Understanding radiation effects and sharing test data on power 
MOSFETs to aid parts selection
– Best practices, “rules of thumb” for application conditions
7To be presented by Jean-Marie Lauenstein at the NASA Electronics Parts and Packaging (NEPP) Electronics Technology Workshop (ETW), Greenbelt, MD, June 26-29, 2017.
Topic Agency(ies)/Industry Description
COTS/Automotive Trench NESC, Aerospace Corp., Vishay Radiation evaluation of trench MOSFETs
Rad-Hardened Trench Infineon/IR Independent radiation testing of new offering
Superjunction MOSFETs Infineon, STMicro Independent radiation testing of new rad hardened SJ MOSFETs
planar VDMOS Fuji, Microsemi
Independent radiation testing of rad hardened 
new offerings: High voltage is a priority (500 V 
and up)
Silicon Power MOSFET Roadmap
8To be presented by Jean-Marie Lauenstein at the NASA Electronics Parts and Packaging (NEPP) Electronics Technology Workshop (ETW), Greenbelt, MD, June 26-29, 2017.
FY15 FY16 FY17 FY18
Rad Hardened
- STMicro superjunction
- Infineon superjunction
100 V, higher-V targeted
- Fuji JAXA-R VDMOS 
high voltage
- Microsemi i2MOS
- Infineon (IR) R8 trench
COTS/Alternative Grade
- Vishay Trench
- On Semiconductor Trench
- NKP Trench
Radiation Testing (track status)
Radiation Testing (track status)
(track status) Radiation Testing
(track status)Radiation Testing(track status)
Radiation Testing
Radiation Testing
Radiation Testing
(track status)
Silicon Trench Power MOSFET 
Catastrophic Failure Modes
9
• COTS/Automotive: 
– Collaborative effort with NESC
– Part-part variability requires larger test 
sample sizes, possibly more derating
– N-type – SEB 
• Onset LET varies within manufacturer
– Cannot generalize test results
• Even for LETs below GCR “iron knee”, 
must use these 60 V parts at < 50 % 
– P-type – SEGR 
• Often safe at higher % of rated voltage
Trench MOSFETs on test board at 
Lawrence Berkeley National 
Laboratory accelerator facility
Comparison of n-type 60V trench 
MOSFET SEB thresholds
To be presented by Jean-Marie Lauenstein at the NASA Electronics Parts and Packaging (NEPP) Electronics Technology Workshop (ETW), Greenbelt, MD, June 26-29, 2017.
P-Type Trench Power MOSFET 
Test Results
Vishay SQJ431EP Automotive:  -200V, 12A, 213 mΩ
• SEGR with 886 MeV krypton (LET = 31 MeV·cm2/mg) at 75% of 
rated voltage
– “×” in left plot marks failure after first beam run at -150 V: 
threshold thus not found.
– 2 samples failed on PIGS; 1 during run (gate-to-drain) (right plot)
10To be presented by Jean-Marie Lauenstein at the NASA Electronics Parts and Packaging (NEPP) Electronics Technology Workshop (ETW), Greenbelt, MD, June 26-29, 2017.
VGS = 0 V
SEGR Response Curve Strip Tape During Run
P-Type Trench Power MOSFET 
Test Results (cont’d)
On Semiconductor NVTFS5116PL Automotive:  -60V, 14A, 52 mΩ
• SEGR with 886 MeV krypton (LET = 31 MeV·cm2/mg) at 83% of 
rated voltage
– All 3 samples failed during run (ex/ right plot)
– Part-to-part variability: may require additional derating over 
standard 0.75 factor
• Ex/ 0.75*(-50 V) = -37.5 V but 99/90 one-sided tolerance (KTL) yields -30 V
11To be presented by Jean-Marie Lauenstein at the NASA Electronics Parts and Packaging (NEPP) Electronics Technology Workshop (ETW), Greenbelt, MD, June 26-29, 2017.
SEGR Response Curve Strip Tape During Run
P-Type Trench Power MOSFET 
Test Results (cont’d)
Nexperia BSS84AKV Automotive:  -50V, 170mA, 7.5 Ω
• SEGR with 886 MeV krypton (LET = 31 MeV·cm2/mg) at 88% of 
rated voltage
– All 3 samples failed during run (ex/ right plot)
– Part-to-part variability: may require additional derating over standard 
0.75 factor
• Cannot rule out bimodal distribution
12To be presented by Jean-Marie Lauenstein at the NASA Electronics Parts and Packaging (NEPP) Electronics Technology Workshop (ETW), Greenbelt, MD, June 26-29, 2017.
SEGR Response Curve
Vishay SQS460EN 
Automotive:  60V, 8A, 36 mΩ
13To be presented by Jean-Marie Lauenstein at the NASA Electronics Parts and Packaging (NEPP) Electronics Technology Workshop (ETW), Greenbelt, MD, June 26-29, 2017.
N-Type Trench Power MOSFET 
Test Results
Vishay Si7414DN 
COTS:  60V, 8.7A, 25 mΩ
SEB Response Curve SEB Response Curve
• SEB with ions below the GCR “iron knee”, at 50% of rated voltage
– Possible risk of SEB in proton environment
– Part-to-part variability/bimodality continues to be a concern
14To be presented by Jean-Marie Lauenstein at the NASA Electronics Parts and Packaging (NEPP) Electronics Technology Workshop (ETW), Greenbelt, MD, June 26-29, 2017.
N-Type Trench Power MOSFET 
Test Results: 200 MeV Protons
Vishay Si7414DN COTS:  60V, 8.7A, 25 mΩ
Strip Tape During Run: 
Charge Collection Only
• Onset VDS for current spikes from 200-MeV protons is similar to 
that of SEB from heavy ions
– Lack of stiffening capacitor may have allowed VDS quenching
Strip Tape During Run: 
Current Spikes
15To be presented by Jean-Marie Lauenstein at the NASA Electronics Parts and Packaging (NEPP) Electronics Technology Workshop (ETW), Greenbelt, MD, June 26-29, 2017.
N-Type Trench Power MOSFET 
Test Results: 200 MeV Protons (cont’d)
Vishay Si7414DN COTS:  60V, 8.7A, 25 mΩ
Proton Test Setup
• Frequency of current spikes, but not magnitude, increases at 
higher VDS
– Additional tests needed to reveal whether spikes are protective-mode SEB 
events
Strip Tape During Run:
Increased Current Spike Frequency
MIL-STD
Test Circuit
Silicon Trench Power MOSFET 
Degradation from Heavy Ions
• Non-hardened n-type susceptible to 
localized dosing degradation
– Ion strike through gate oxide locally shifts the 
flatband voltage, forming a transistor region 
with lower gate threshold voltage
– Well-understood phenomenon affecting only 
n-type transistors
• Gate threshold shift in p-type swamped by 
overall lower threshold voltage
16
Strikes through gate oxide along 
channel length form regions of lower VTH
Greater effect on VTH from 
heavy ions vs. protons
To be presented by Jean-Marie Lauenstein at the NASA Electronics Parts and Packaging (NEPP) Electronics Technology Workshop (ETW), Greenbelt, MD, June 26-29, 2017.
Modified from: Lauenstein, IEEE REDW 2013
Ion strike
Silicon Trench Power MOSFET 
Degradation from Heavy Ions (cont’d)
• Magnitude of effect is primarily voltage-dependent
– On orbit, unbiased spares are still vulnerable
17
Trench MOSFET drain current during 
beam run: 0 V applied to all pins
At 6 VDS, ~3 order of mag. increased ID
after ~6 argon ions through gate oxide
To be presented by Jean-Marie Lauenstein at the NASA Electronics Parts and Packaging (NEPP) Electronics Technology Workshop (ETW), Greenbelt, MD, June 26-29, 2017.
Hardened Trench MOSFET Test 
Results
• First (and only) rad-
hardened trench MOSFET
– Verified manufacturer SOA
– 3 different failure signatures 
occurred outside SOA
• Greater complexity than 
planar MOSFETs
18To be presented by Jean-Marie Lauenstein at the NASA Electronics Parts and Packaging (NEPP) Electronics Technology Workshop (ETW), Greenbelt, MD, June 26-29, 2017.
Infineon (International Rectifier) IRHLF87Y20 
R8 rad-hardened:  20V, 12A, 32 mΩ
SEE Response Curve
SEB (note RTN-like behavior) SEGR SEB with partial recovery
19
Summary and Comments
• Commercial and alternative-grade MOSFET usage 
will continue
– Driven by higher risk-tolerant missions & commercial space
– RHA challenge in light of limited funding:
• Understand general radiation effects
• Become wiser at identifying “must test” candidates
– By application & environment
– By component itself (voltage rating, type, manufacturer, etc.)
• Higher-performing radiation-hardened options are 
on the horizon
• Partnering is the key to incentivize manufacturers 
of rad-hardened parts and to share COTs data
– Government
– Industry
– Academia
To be presented by Jean-Marie Lauenstein at the NASA Electronics Parts and Packaging (NEPP) Electronics Technology Workshop (ETW), Greenbelt, MD, June 26-29, 2017.


Silicon Power MOSFETs

Silicon Power MOSFETs

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