Assessment of Ionizing Radiation Hardness of a GaN Field-Effect Transistor

Abstract

This work addresses the effects of Total Ionizing Dose (TID) on a Gallium Nitride (GaN) transistor before, during and after exposing to radiation, and also the comparison between biasing or not, during radiation exposition. These High Electron Mobility Transistors (HEMTs) were exposed to 10-keV X-rays effective energy and tested in a controlled temperature environment. Radiation doses varied in a wide range up to 350 krad. The results show that the devices analyzed, the commercial off-the-shelf (COTs) GaN - GS61008T, suffer few effects of ionizing radiation, and recover their electrical characteristics, especially when in on-state mode, indicating they are good candidates for use in harsh environments.