Thin Film Silicon on Silicon Nitride for Radiation Hardened Dielectrically Isolated Misfet's

The permanent ionizing radiation effects resulting from charge trapping in a silicon nitride isolation dielectric has been determined for a total ionizing dose up to 107 rads (Si). Junction FET's, whose active channel region is directly adjacent to the siliconsilicon nitride interface, were used to measure the effects of the radiation induced charge trapping in the Si3N4 isolation dielectric. The JFET saturation current and channel conductance versus junction gate voltage and substrate voltage were characterized as a function of the total ionizing radiation dose. The experimental results on the Si3N4 are compared to results on similar devices with SiO2 dielectric isolation. The ramifications of using the silicon nitride for fabricating radiation hardened dielectrically isolated MIS devices are discussed.