The Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute and Pohang University of Science and Technology have jointly developed a radiation-resistant technology for aerospace nano-semiconductors, significantly reducing errors caused by protons. On the 6th, the Advanced Radiation Research Institute announced that they successfully developed the passivation technology, which builds a passivation layer to physically isolate the semiconductor surface from the external environment, thus blocking water and oxygen in the atmosphere and significantly reducing the errors in nano-semiconductors caused by protons.
Dr. Chang-Ku Kang’s team from the Fusion Research Division at the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute and Professor Byeong-Hoon Lee’s team from POSTECH used an atomic layer deposition method that involves gasifying the material to create a thin layer through a chemical reaction on the surface. They deposited a 10 nm thick aluminum oxide (Al2O3) passivation layer on the surface of zinc oxide (ZnO)-based nano-semiconductors.
Both passivated and non-passivated semiconductors were exposed to protons using a proton accelerator, and their electrical characteristic changes were comparatively analyzed. The results confirmed that the passivation layer very effectively suppressed the changes in electrical properties of the semiconductor caused by proton exposure.
The health of a semiconductor is assessed by changes in factors such as the threshold voltage (the minimum voltage required for current to flow), hysteresis index (which indicates variance in semiconductor output under the same conditions), stress index, and noise values (unwanted signals during semiconductor operation).
Semiconductors protected by the passivation layer exhibited a 60% reduction in threshold voltage change and a 90% decrease in changes of hysteresis index and stress index due to proton exposure compared to their unprotected counterparts. Notably, the noise value did not change at all after proton exposure.
This technology, which effectively protects semiconductors from the influence of protons—which comprise the majority of space radiation—is expected to become a key technology in implementing next-generation aerospace nano-semiconductor radiation-resistant (Robust) systems.
Jung Byung-Yeop, head of the Advanced Radiation Research Institute at the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, stated, “This technology is a case of applying a passivation layer through atomic layer deposition to next-generation nano-semiconductors and verifying its actual radiation-resistance effects,” adding, “We will make further efforts to secure a competitive edge in aerospace semiconductor technology.”