Experimental study of charge generation mechanisms in power MOSFETs due to energetic particle impact,
Abstract Even though low voltage MOSFETs are fairly intrinsically robust to SEB, the high current pulses that arise in certain charge generating mechanisms may lead to circuit malfunction. In this work, for the first time, the current pulses induced by ion impacts in new generation commercial power MOSFETs are characterized by a statistical analysis. This approach allows us to evidence the existence, in these devices, of two different charge generation mechanisms. Furthermore, the capability to easily quantify these phenomena provides useful information for the design of circuits using these MOSFETs. The pulse shape and the total charge generated by the impact of an energetic ion are studied in relation to the energy and species of the ion and the applied voltage between drain and source.