4H-SiC CMOS Transimpedance Amplifier of Gamma-Irradiation Resistance Over 1 MGy

A transimpedance amplifier (TIA)—with gamma-irradiation resistance of over 1 MGy—based on a novel 4H-SiC complementary MOS (CMOS) technology was fabricated. This TIA is robust enough to be applied in measuring instruments installed in nuclear power plants or other harshly irradiated environments. The SiC CMOS transistors comprising the TIA feature a thin (8-nm-thick) gate oxide to reduce the threshold-voltage shift ( ${V}_{{\text {th}}}$ ) due to irradiation by more than 90% compared with that of the conventional transistors. Oxynitride protection formed at the SiC–SiO2 interface in the thin gate-oxide region suppresses the deterioration of mobility by interface traps generated by the gamma radiation. The TIA consisting of these SiC-CMOS transistors operated properly up to at least 1.2 MGy without an increase in the offset voltage, although its open-loop gain was degraded due to deteriorated mobility of the p-channel metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET). On the other hand, increasing the drain leakage current in the nonactive region impeded further improvement of the SiC TIA under a high integral dose. To decrease the drain leakage current, a structure with a high doping concentration layer between the source and the drain in the nonactive region was fabricated. The structure stops the parasitic transistor turning on and the trap-assisted current increasing. The leakage current of the improved structure is about 42% lower than that of a conventional structure.