Neutron Radiation Damage in Silicon Transistors

In the investigation of base and collector current as a function of the emitter-to-base voltage, previous studies have shown that neutroninduced base current has components originating in the emitter space charge region as well as the neutral base region. This study shows that while the low injection level neutron-induced base current is dominated by the space charge component, the high injection behavior appears to be controlled by recombination in the neutral base region. Additional experiments performed in special tetrode transistors and van der Pauw-type samples indicate that changes in collector current are dominated by recombination in the neutral base, while changes in base doping and mobility have only a secondary effect. These conclusions are reached from experiments on transistors with a ring emitter, on tetrode-type test transistors, and on special Hall-effect devices, and by a detailed analysis of the emission crowding characteristics of a "ring-dot" geometry device.