Work

Total Ionizing Dose Effect Simulation Study on 130 nm CMOS Processor

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: This paper reports the results of a system-level total ionizing dose (TID) effect simulation study on a SMIC 130 nm LEON2 processor. Firstly, the device-level simulations of the 130 nm NMOS transistors are performed using the Sentaurus TCAD software to analyze the effects of a bias condition, channel width, and irradiation dose on a TID-induced leakage current. Based on the TCAD simulation results, a Verilog-A-based compact model is developed for NMOS transistors to describe the TID-induced leakage current, and it is then embedded into target nodes of the SPICE netlist for the LEON2 processor, enabling system-level TID simulations. The simulation results reveal the processor's failure threshold and corresponding failure mechanism; meanwhile, the increase in the power supply current with the irradiation dose is also observed. The research reported in this paper can provide beneficial guidance for radiation performance evaluation and radiation hardening by design (RHBD) in 130 nm bulk CMOS processors.

Source: Micromachines

DOI: 10.3390/mi17010132

Authors: Yi Liu, Yuchen Liu, Xinfang Liao, Changqing Xu, Yangchen He, Yintang Yang

Institutions: Xidian University, Shenzhen City Polytechnic, Guangzhou Institute of Technology

Language: English

Topic: Radiation Effects in Electronics

Subfield: Electrical and Electronic Engineering

Field: Engineering

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $2,534

Funders: National Natural Science Foundation of China, National Key Research and Development Program of China, Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation of Guangdong Province