The effects of proton irradiation on the lateral and vertical scaling of UHV/CVD SiGeHBT BiCMOS technology

We present the first experimental results of the effects of 63 MeV proton i rradiation on both the lateral and vertical scaling properties of SiGe HBT BiCMOS technology. Three distinct generations of (unhardened) SiGe technolo gy are examined. The first generation SiGe HBTs experience very minor degra dation in current gain at proton fluence as high as 2 x 10(13) p/cm(2), The second and third generations SiGe HBTs, however, show 60-70% degradation i n current gain under similar conditions, suggesting that emitter-base space r optimization may be required as the technology is scaled, Si nFETs from t he first generation SiGe BiCMOS technology are only hard to about 40 krad e quivalent gamma dose, and are limited by drain-to-source leakage along the shallow trench edge. The second generation Si nFETs, however, improve with scaling since the shallow trench is thinned, and can withstand up to 150 kr ad of equivalent dose.