Effectiveness of NIEL as a Predictor of Single-Event Displacement Damage Effects in CMOS Circuits

Single-event displacement damage (SEDD) effects are a rising concern in modern technology nodes with small feature sizes. A model is developed using existing displacement damage (DD) data to calculate SEDD cross sections as a function of nonionizing energy deposition. This model is validated against existing data. Results of the model are used to demonstrate the effectiveness of nonionizing energy loss (NIEL) as a figure of merit (FOM) for predicting SEDD effects, analogous to the use of linear energy transfer (LET) for single-event effects (SEEs). Rate predictions of SEDD are performed for representative orbits. A method based on using NIEL as an FOM is found to reasonably and conservatively predict on-orbit SEDD rates predicted by direct calculation using the model. Implications for SEDD hardness assurance are discussed.