• Journal of Semiconductor Engineering
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• 제1권3호
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• pp.81-87
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• 2020

An instrumentation amplifier (IA) and an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) are essential circuit blocks for accurate and robust sensor readout systems. This paper introduces recent advances in radiation-hardening by design (RHBD) techniques applied for the sensor readout integrated circuits (IC), e.g., the three-op-amp IA and the successive-approximation register (SAR) ADC, operating against total ionizing dose (TID) and singe event effect (SEE) in harsh radiation environments. The radiation-hardened IA utilized TID monitoring and adaptive reference control to compensate for transistor parameter variations due to radiation effects. The radiation-hardened SAR ADC adopts delay-based double-feedback flip-flops to prevent soft errors which flips the data bits. Radiation-hardened IA and ADC were verified through compact model simulation, and fabricated CMOS chips were measured in radiation facilities to confirm their radiation tolerance.

• Journal of Electrical Engineering and Technology
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• 제12권4호
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• pp.1619-1626
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• 2017

Electronic components that are used in high-level radiation environment require a semiconductor device having a radiation-hardened characteristic. In this paper, we proposed a radiation-hardened I-gate n-MOSFET (n-type Metal Oxide Semiconductors Field Effect Transistors) using a layout modification technique only. The proposed I-gate n-MOSFET structure is modified as an I-shaped gate poly in order to mitigate a radiation-induced leakage current in the standard n-MOSFET structure. For verification of its radiation-hardened characteristic, the M&S (Modeling and Simulation) of the 3D (3-Dimension) structure is performed by TCAD (Technology Computer Aided Design) tool. In addition, we carried out an evaluation test using a $Co^{60}$ gamma-ray source of 10kGy(Si)/h. As a result, we have confirmed the radiation-hardened level up to a total ionizing dose of 20kGy(Si).

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제56권1호
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• pp.189-194
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• 2024

This paper presents a radiation-hardened-by-design preamplifier that utilizes a self-compensation technique with a charge-sensitive amplifier (CSA) and replica for total ionizing dose (TID) effects. The CSA consists of an operational amplifier (OPAMP) with a 6-bit binary weighted current source (BWCS) and feedback network. The replica circuit is utilized to compensate for the TID effects of the CSA. Two comparators can detect the operating point of the replica OPAMP and generate appropriate signals to control the switches of the BWCS. The proposed preamplifier was fabricated using a general-purpose complementary metal-oxide-silicon field effect transistor 0.18 ㎛ process and verified through a test up to 230 kGy (SiO₂) at a rate of 10.46 kGy (SiO₂)/h. The code of the BWCS control circuit varied with the total radiation dose. During the verification test, the initial value of the digital code was 39, and a final value of 30 was observed. Furthermore, the preamplifier output exhibited a maximum variation error of 2.39%, while the maximum rise-time error was 1.96%. A minimum signal-to-noise ratio of 49.64 dB was measured.

• 전기학회논문지
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• 제67권6호
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• pp.745-752
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• 2018

ICs(Integrated circuits) for nuclear power plant exposed to radiation environment occur malfunctions and data errors by the TID(Total ionizing dose) effects among radiation-damage phenomenons. In order to protect ICs from the TID effects, this paper proposes a radiation-hardening of the logic circuit(D-latch) which used for the data synchronization and the clock division in the ICs design. The radiation-hardening technology in the logic device(NAND) that constitutes the proposed RH(Radiation-hardened) D-latch is structurally more advantageous than the conventional technologies in that it keeps the device characteristics of the commercial process. Because of this, the unit cell based design of the RH logic device is possible, which makes it easier to design RH ICs, including digital logic circuits, and reduce the time and cost required in RH circuit design. In this paper, we design and modeling the structure of RH D-latch based on commercial $0.35{\mu}m$ CMOS process using Silvaco's TCAD 3D tool. As a result of verifying the radiation characteristics by applying the radiation-damage M&S (Modeling&Simulation) technique, we have confirmed the radiation-damage of the standard D-latch and the RH performance of the proposed D-latch by the TID effects.

• 한국정보통신학회논문지
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• 제19권6호
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• pp.1405-1410
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• 2015

본 연구에서는 정상 운전이나 사고 시 발생되는 고방사선 환경에서 다양한 센서에 공통적으로 사용할 수 있는 내방사선 센서 신호처리 모듈을 설계하였다. 개발한 초기 모듈은 센서의 저항(R)과 정전용량(C) 값의 변화를 입력으로 받아 PWM 신호 변조방식으로 처리하도록 설계되었다. 이 모듈은 총 약 12 kGy 방사선 평가시험에서 Full-Scale 대비 ±10 % 오차범위를 가지고 있었다. 오차 발생의 주요 원인은 방사선 피폭량의 증가에 따른 공통회로 내 스위칭 소자의 열화와 이로 인한 펄스폭 변조회로의 듀티 비 증가로 분석되었다. 이 분석결과를 반영한 방사선 내성강화를 위해 방사선에 의한 특성변화를 상쇄하는 회로를 추가하여 재설계하였고, 20.7 kGy 범위의 TID 시험에서 Full-scale 대비 5% 이하 오차로 개선결과를 얻었다.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제53권5호
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• pp.1483-1490
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• 2021

Many studies are undertaken into nuclear power plants (NPPs) in preparation for accidents exceeding design standards. In this paper, we analyze the applicability of various wireless communication technologies as accident countermeasures in different NPP environments. In particular, a commercial wireless communication module (WCM) is investigated by measuring leakage current and packet error rate (PER), which vary depending on the intensity of incident radiation on the module, by testing at a Co-60 gamma-ray irradiation facility. The experimental results show that the WCMs continued to operate after total doses of 940 and 1097 Gy, with PERs of 3.6% and 0.8%, when exposed to irradiation dose rates of 185 and 486 Gy/h, respectively. In short, the lower irradiation dose rate decreased the performance of WCMs more than the higher dose rate. In experiments comparing the two communication protocols of request/response and one-way, the WCMs survived up to 997 and 1177 Gy, with PERs of 2% and 0%, respectively. Since the request/response protocol uses both the transmitter and the receiver, while the one-way protocol uses only the transmitter, then the electronic system on the side of the receiver is more vulnerable to radiation effects. From our experiments, the tested module is expected to be used for design-based accidents (DBAs) of "Category A" type, and has confirmed the possibility of using wireless communication systems in NPPs.

• 전자공학회논문지
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• 제50권8호
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• pp.121-127
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• 2013

SRAM, DRAM을 포함한 Memory 소자들은 우주환경에서 고에너지 입자에 취약하다. SEE(Single Event Effect) 또는 TID(Total Ionizing Dose)에 의해서 소자의 비정상적인 동작이 야기될 수 있다. 본 논문은 SRAM의 기본 단위 셀인 Latch 회로를 이용하여 양성자에 대한 취약성을 나타내는 SEU cross section을 추정할 수 있는 방법에 대해서 설명한다. 또한 양성자에 의한 SEU 효과를 줄일 수 있는 Latch 회로를 제안하였다. 두 소자를 이용하여 50b shift register를 $0.35{\mu}m$공정에서 제작하였고, 한국 원자력 의학원의 43MeV 양성자 빔을 이용하여 방사선 조사 실험을 진행하였다. 실험 결과로부터 conventional latch를 이용한 shift register에 비해서 제안한 latch를 이용한 shift register가 방사선 환경에서 내구성이 강한 동작 특성을 가진 다는 것을 확인하였다.