Material and device technologies for advanced, high-performance, and radiation-hardened CMOS circuits

The problems associated with small feature-size devices are compounded when radiation hardness requirements are imposed upon circuits, and this additional requirement has spawned the developing of a variety of complex, nonstandard, CMOS/bulk processes. In contrast CMOS/SOS technology, with only minor modifications to a commercial production process, is able to produce circuits that can satisfy the requirements associated with very severe radiation environments and is now gaining wide acceptance in the military and aerospace marketplace. In this paper, the various implementations of CMOS technology are reviewed with emphasis given to issues associated with substrate materials and with radiation hardness in small feature-size devices.