Study of low-dose-rate radiation effects on commercial linear bipolar ICs

The results of a detailed study of the degradation of commercial linear bipolar ICs due to irradiation at four dose rates are presented. The time dependence of the degradation rate at the different dose rates is shown to be consistent with a model that describes a mechanism for defect generation in the devices used in this study. Based on this model, an accelerated test procedure for bipolar devices is proposed.