A Comparison of Radiation Sensitivity of Commercial Electronics to the International Traffic in Arms Regulation Levels



	A Comparison of Radiation Sensitivity of Commercial Electronics to the International Traffic in Arms Regulation Levels

	Fred W. Sexton and Paul E. Dodd Sandia National Laboratories

	Continuing advances in IC technologies are leading to microelectronics with much more radiation tolerance than has historically been observed. This paper explores the implications of the measured radiation response of commercial ICs in comparison to the levels established in the International Traffic in Arms Regulation levels. It will be shown that some present-day commercial parts meet or exceed the ITAR levels and could fall under export control. Expected trends with continued scaling are also discussed.

Fred W. Sexton Fred W. Sexton manages the Radiation & Reliability Physics department at Sandia National Laboratories, responsible for developing the science and technology of radiation effects and reliability in microsystems, including both MEMS and CMOS IC technologies. He has served the radiation effects community as Technical Program Chairman, Guest Editor, Short Course Chairman, Short Course Speaker, and Session Chairman for the IEEE Nuclear and Space Radiation Effects Conference (NSREC), and is currently Senior Member at Large of the Radiation Effects Steering Group. Fred has received Outstanding Conference Paper awards at the 1984, 1997, and 2001 NSREC and the 1985 and 1990 HEART conferences. He received his B.S. and M.S. in electrical engineering from the University of Arkansas in 1976 and 1978, respectively. He joined Sandia National Laboratories in 1978 as a Member of Technical Staff and has worked in the areas of silicon solar cell development, IC technology development, IC manufacturing, and radiation effects in semiconductor devices and ICs. He has more than 80 technical publications to his credit. He is a senior member of the IEEE and the NPSS. Paul E. Dodd Paul E. Dodd received his B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. in electrical engineering from Purdue University in 1988, 1989, and 1993, respectively. He joined Sandia National Laboratories in 1993, and is Technical Team Leader of the Radiation Physics, Simulation, and Technology department. He is involved in the development of Sandia’s radiation-hardened bulk and SOI CMOS technologies, and the computer simulation of radiation effects on microelectronics. Paul has served the radiation effects community as Publicity Chairman, Session Chairman, Short Course Instructor, and Short Course Chairman for the IEEE Nuclear and Space Radiation Effects Conference (NSREC), and has been a Session Chairman for the Single-Event Effects Symposium. Paul has served the IEEE International Electron Devices Meeting as a member of the Modeling and Simulation Technical Subcommittee and Session Chairman. He has authored or co-authored more than 35 publications, including the 1997, 2000, and 2001 NSREC Outstanding Conference Papers. Paul is a senior member of the IEEE and the NPSS, and was the recipient of the 2001 IEEE NPSS Early Achievement Award.