Effects of Device Aging on Microelectronics Radiation Response and Reliability

Recent work is reviewed that shows that MOS and bipolar device radiation response can change significantly with aging time after device fabrication and/or packaging. Effects include changes in radiation response due to burn-in, pre-irradiation elevated temperature stress, and/or long-term storage. These changes are attributed experimentally and theoretically to the motion and reactions of water and other hydrogen-related species. Similar hydrogen-related reactions can also affect the long-term reliability of MOS devices and integrated circuits, as illustrated in detail here for negative-bias temperature instability