Avalanching in Single-Event-Upset Charge Collection in Semiconductor Diodes

The one-dimensional computer program DIODE has been used to calculate charge collection in single ionizing events in silicon and gallium arsenide diodes. Avalanche multiplication is calculated to occur above a threshold of 3 V in a silicon diode, in agreement with published measurements. Since avalanching may lead to burnout in very-large-scale integration semiconductors, it is a greater danger than the funneling effect of space charge. Carrier recombination is found to be important in gallium arsenide.