Carbon
nanotube (CNT) field-effect transistors (FETs) and integrated
circuits (ICs) have been predicted and demonstrated to be some of
the most promising candidates for radiation-hardened electronics.
The studies mainly focused on the radiation response of the whole
transistors, and experiments or analyses to reveal the detailed radiation
responses of different components of the FET were absent. Here, we
use a controllable experimental method to decouple the total ionizing
dose (TID) radiation effects on different individual components of
top-gate CNT FETs, including the CNT channel, gate dielectric, and
substrate. The substrate is found to be more vulnerable to radiation
damage than the gate dielectric and CNT film in FETs. Furthermore,
the CNT film not only acts as a radiation-hardened semiconducting
channel but also protects the channel/substrate interface by partially
shielding the substrate from radiation damage. On the basis of the
experimental data, a model is built to predict the irradiation resistance
limit of CNT top-gated FETs, which can withstand at least 155 kGy
irradiation.
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