Experimental evidence of “latent gate oxide damages” in medium voltage power MOSFET as a result of heavy ions exposure

The results presented in this paper are related to an experimental study that has the aim to evidence the formation of “latent gate oxide damages” in medium voltage power MOSFETs during the impact with energetic particles. The understanding of these “latent defectiveness” can be an helpful aid in the comprehension of the mechanisms of breach of the oxide layer of MOS structures induced by single energetic particles impact (single event gate rupture). To properly detect the presence of “latent damages” we have developed a high resolution experimental set-up and identified an appropriate region in which the device have to be biased in order to trigger this kind of damage.