Effects of orientation of substrate on the enhanced low-dose-rate sensitivity (ELDRS) in NPN transistors

The radiation effects and annealing characteristics of two types of domestic NPN bipolar junction transistors, fabricated with different orientations, were investigated under different dose-rate irradiation. The experimental results show that both types of the NPN transistors exhibit remarkable Enhanced Low-Dose-Rate Sensitivity (ELDRS). After irradiation at high or low dose rate, the excess base current of NPN transistors obviously increased, and the current gain would degrade rapidly. Moreover, the decrease of collector current was also observed. The NPN transistor with <111> orientation was more sensitive to ionizing radiation than that with <100> orientation. The underlying mechanisms of various experimental phenomena are discussed in detail in this paper. (authors)