Dose and dose-rate effects on NPN bipolar junction transistors irradiated at high temperature

The effect of high-temperature irradiation on commercial bipolar junction transistors has been studied for four dose rates. The experimental data presented in this paper show two base current degradation peaks as a function of irradiation temperature. An attempt to physically explain the obtained experimental results is proposed. This explanation is based on the difference in the enhancement-annealing kinetic of the elementary processes at play. The combined effects of high irradiation temperatures and dose rate are also discussed.