ABSTRACT
This chapter describes silicon (Si) CMOS as a platform for circuit design for extreme environments—in particular, radiation environments. It addresses the unique radiation attributes of modern CMOS from three perspectives: device parameters, circuit topology, and layout geometry. The Si CMOS platform presents circuit designers with the challenge of persistent parametric shifts when exposed to the extreme environment—the accumulating effect of total ionizing dose. Si CMOS is acutely sensitive to transient radiation effects that generate illegitimate signals that may perturb, overwhelm, or even circumvent the signals impressed on the platform by the circuit topology—the phenomenon of single ionizing particle interactions or single events. Si-on-insulator (SOI) CMOS technologies have found favor for both extreme and benign environment applications. From a single-event perspective, the constrained collection volumes and inter-device isolation offered by SOI are appealing. CMOS SOI controls single-event charge collection and charge sharing, but the platform is not a panacea for extreme environment design.
