Contribution to the study of ionizing radiation effects on bipolar technologies: application to the hardening of integrated circuits

The use of analog integrated circuits in radiation environments raises the problem of their behaviour with respect to the different effects induced by particles and radiations. The first chapter of this thesis presents the origins of radiations and the different topologies of bipolar transistors. The effects of ionizing radiations on bipolar components, like cumulative dose, dose rates, and single events, are detailed in three distinct chapters with the same scientifical approach. The simulation of the physical degradation phenomena of the components allows to establish original electrical models coming from the understanding of the induced mechanisms. These models are used to evaluate the degradations occurring in linear analogic circuits. Common and original hardening methods are presented, some of which are applied to bipolar integrated circuit technologies. Finally, experimental laser beam test techniques are presented, which are used to reproduce the dose rate and the single events. (J.S.)