On the Vulnerability of UMOSFETs in Terrestrial Radiation Environments

The vulnerability of prominent silicon-based U-shaped Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor Field
Effect Transistors (UMOSFET) to destructive radiation effects when operating in terrestrial atmospheric
environments is addressed. It is known that secondary particles from nuclear reactions between atmospheric
neutrons and the constituent materials of electronic devices can trigger Single-Event Burnout (SEB)
destructive failure in power MOSFETs. The susceptibility of UMOSFETs to SEBs induced by atmospheric
neutrons in accelerated tests are compared to that of similarly rated traditional Double-diffused MOSFET
(DMOSFET) counterparts. Based on computational simulations, strategies are proposed to enhance the
survivability of next-generation UMOSFETs for high-reliability power systems operating on Earth.