Radiation induced changes in power MOSFET gate-charge measurements

The effects of ionizing-radiation-induced oxide and interface traps on gate-charge measurements of power MOSFETs are discussed. Commercial and radiation hardened power DMOS devices were irradiated, and the oxide trapped charge and charge in interface traps at threshold were determined from the threshold voltage shifts. The build-up of radiation-induced charge was then correlated to changes observed in the gate-charge measurements. The radiation-induced changes in the gate-charge measurements at 500 krad(Si) resulted in a 15% increase in the amount of energy needed to turn the device on and off in a boost power converter.<
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