Open AccessReliability of semiconductor and gas-filled diodes for over-voltage protection exposed to ionizing radiation
Author(s) -
Koviljka Stanković,
Miloš Vujisić,
Edin Dolićanin
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
nuclear technology and radiation protection
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.31
H-Index - 16
eISSN - 1452-8185
pISSN - 1451-3994
DOI - 10.2298/ntrp0902132s
Subject(s) - diode , ionizing radiation , materials science , optoelectronics , voltage , reliability (semiconductor) , semiconductor , radiation , irradiation , semiconductor device , optics , electrical engineering , physics , nanotechnology , nuclear physics , engineering , power (physics) , layer (electronics) , quantum mechanics
The wide-spread use of semiconductor and gas-filled diodes for non-linear over-voltage protection results in a variety of possible working conditions. It is therefore essential to have a thorough insight into their reliability in exploitation environments which imply exposure to ionizing radiation. The aim of this paper is to investigate the influence of irradiation on over-voltage diode characteristics by exposing the diodes to californium-252 combined neutron/gamma radiation field. The irradiation of semiconductor over-voltage diodes causes severe degradation of their protection characteristics. On the other hand, gas-filled over-voltage diodes exhibit a temporal improvement of performance. The results are presented with the accompanying theoretical interpretations of the observed changes in over-voltage diode behaviour, based on the interaction of radiation with materials constituting the diodes