TCAD Simulation Study of the Single-Event Effects in Silicon Nanowire Transistors

Three-dimensional TCAD device simulation is carried out to study single-event effects in silicon nanowire devices. The results show that charge collection appears in silicon nanowire devices following the incidence of heavy ions, which is similar to what is observed in a traditional MOSFET. The charge collection mechanism is analyzed in detail. We find that a significant amplification bipolar effect exists in the charge collection process, enhancing the charge collection manifold. The effects of the doping type and the channel length on the charge collection are studied, and the charge collection is compared with that in bulk CMOS transistors. Furthermore, single-event responses are studied in an inverter consisting of nanowire transistors.