Radiation effects testing via semiconductor nonlinear optics: successes and challenges

Single-event effects (SEEs) refer to phenomena that arise from the interaction of single energetic particles with microelectronic devices, as is experienced in harsh radiation environments. Carrier generation induced by two-photon absorption (TPA) has become a valuable tool for SEE investigations of microelectronic structures owing to its unique ability to inject carriers through the wafer, directly into well-defined locations in complex circuits. Recent effort has focused on putting the TPA SEE technique on a more quantitative basis. This paper addresses the recent successes in achieving this goal, as well as the challenges that are faced moving forward.