New experimental findings for single-event gate rupture in MOS capacitors and linear devices

Mechanisms for single-event gate rupture (SEGR) in MOS capacitors and linear integrated circuits (ICs) are explored at ion energies greater than 1 GeV. We find that SEGR thresholds depend strongly on ion energy, but are independent of oxide defects, bias polarity, doping concentration, and ionizing dose. The number of SEGR strikes across a MOS capacitor was measured, and the SEGR response cross section distinctly shows an electric field threshold. The importance of having stiffening and speedup capacitors at the device is discussed.