Proton-Induced Displacement Damage and Total-Ionizing-Dose Effects on Silicon-Based MEMS Resonators

The response of silicon-based microelectromechanical systems resonators to proton irradiation is determined by the combined effects of displacement damage and total ionizing dose (TID). Displacement damage (DD) can lead to carrier removal, which tends to decrease the carrier concentration, and TID leads to dopant activation and/or surface charging effects, which tend to increase the carrier concentration. These competing effects lead to changes in carrier concentration that alter Young's modulus, and consequently the resonance frequency. For higher flux 2-MeV proton irradiation to 10
¹⁴
/cm
²
, TID effects dominate at low fluence, leading to a decrease in resonance frequency, which is offset by displacement damage effects at higher fluence. Fast recovery is observed as TID effects anneal out and DD effects remain. For lower-flux 0.8-MeV proton irradiation to 7×10
¹²
/cm
²
, DD effects are relatively more significant than for 2-MeV proton irradiation, and an increase in resonance frequency is observed at all fluences. Stopping and range of ions in matter calculations reinforce these conclusions.