IC’s radiation effects modeling and estimation

The approach for IC's radiation hardness estimation and fault prediction is presented in this paper. It is based on the implementation of low-energy laboratory simulation sources (laser, X-ray, etc.). The possibility of radiation simulator application is based on similarity of physical processes in semiconductor structures causing IC upsets and failures under the radiation environment and under simulation sources. The analysis of adequacy is performed for total dose effects, single event effects, displacement effects and transient radiation effects. The application of imitators permits to change the expensive and low-productive radiation test installations with much more effective simulation sources, based on the dominant effects equivalence. The designed simulation test methods are proved to be an effective tool to different IC radiation hardness estimation and fault prediction in radiation environment.