Ionizing radiation tolerance and low-frequency noise degradation in UHV/CVD SiGe HBT's

The effect of ionizing radiation on both the electrical and 1/f noise characteristics of advanced UHV/CVD SiGe HBT's is reported for the first time. Only minor degradation in the current-voltage characteristics of both SiGe HBT's and Si BJT's is observed after total radiation dose exposure of 2.0 Mrad(Si) of gamma-radiation. The observed immunity to ionizing radiation exposure suggests that these SiGe HBT's are well suited for many applications requiring radiation tolerance. We have also observed the appearance of ionizing-radiation-induced generation-recombination (G/R) noise in some of these SiGe HBT's.<
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