Effect of total ionizing dose radiation on the 0.25 μm RF PDSOI nMOSFETs with thin gate oxide

Abstract

Thin gate oxide radio frequency (RF) PDSOI nMOSFETs that are suitable for integration with 0.1 μm SOI CMOS technology are fabricated, and the total ionizing dose radiation responses of the nMOSFETs having four different device structures are characterized and compared for an equivalent gamma dose up to 1 Mrad (Si), using the front and back gate threshold voltages, off-state leakage, transconductance and output characteristics to assess direct current (DC) performance. Moreover, the frequency response of these devices under total ionizing dose radiation is presented, such as small-signal current gain and maximum available/stable gain. The results indicate that all the RF PDSOI nMOSFETs show significant degradation in both DC and RF characteristics after radiation, in particular to the float body nMOS. By comparison with the gate backside body contact (GBBC) structure and the body tied to source (BTS) contact structure, the low barrier body contact (LBBC) structure is more effective and excellent in the hardness of total ionizing dose radiation although there are some sacrifices in drive current, switching speed and high frequency response.