posted on 2021-10-27, 12:04authored byPritpal S. Kanhaiya, Andrew Yu, Richard Netzer, William Kemp, Derek Doyle, Max M. Shulaker
Electronics for space applications
have stringent requirements
on both performance and radiation tolerance. The constant exposure
to cosmic radiation damages and eventually destroys electronics, limiting
the lifespan of all space-bound missions. Thus, as space missions
grow increasingly ambitious in distance away from Earth, and therefore
time in space, the electronics driving them must likewise grow increasingly
radiation-tolerant. In this work, we show how carbon nanotube (CNT)
field-effect transistors (CNFETs), a leading candidate for energy-efficient
electronics, can be strategically engineered to simultaneously realize
a robust radiation-tolerant technology. We demonstrate radiation-tolerant
CNFETs by leveraging both extrinsic CNFET benefits
owing to CNFET device geometries enabled by their low-temperature
fabrication, as well as intrinsic CNFET benefits
owing to CNTs’ inherent material properties. By performing
a comprehensive study and optimization of CNFET device geometries,
we demonstrate record CNFET total ionizing dose (TID) tolerance (above
10 Mrad(Si)) and show transient upset testing on complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor
(CMOS) CNFET-based 6T SRAM memories via X-ray prompt
dose testing (threshold dose rate = 1.3 × 1010 rad(Si)/s).
Taken together, this work demonstrates CNFETs’ potential as
a technology for next-generation space applications.