Gamma irradiation testing of electronic devices, and evaluation of irradiated CMOS components on MOSIS test chips

Two distinct testing programs are reported. The first involves irradiation testing of commercial integrated circuits to determine total dose effects to gamma radiation. Eight irradiations in a Cobalt-60 Gammacell at a mean dose rate of 59 krad/hr for a total absorbed dose of 12 megarads (+10, -20%) were performed. Generally, five parts of each item were characterized before, and after, irradiation. Devices were irradiated in a passive mode with leads shorted. Integrated circuits tested involved mostly analog components, such as operational amplifiers, voltage comparators, transistor arrays, analog switches, and buffers. The second phase of testing included different size MOS transistors, resistor, and lateral and vertical NPN bipolar transistors fabricated on MOSIS test chips. These devices were evaluated for general characteristics, as well as noise performance both before, and after, irradiation to a total dose of 1.9 megarad (+10, -20%) in the Gammacell irradiator.