Ionizing radiation effects on MOSFET thin and ultra-thin gate oxides

We briefly review the most important degradation mechanisms affecting ultra-thin gate oxides after exposure to ionizing radiation. One of most crucial issues for device lifetime is the gate leakage current measured after irradiation, that may appear as radiation induced leakage current (RILC) and radiation soft breakdown (RSB). Other important issues are the early breakdown of irradiated oxides, even when stressed at low gate voltages, and the decrease of the drain current on irradiated ultra-thin gate oxide MOSFETs. Finally, we show the effects of irradiation on the thin tunnel oxides of floating gate memory arrays.