ELECTROMAGNETIC COMPATIBILITY OF SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES EXPOSED TO TRANSITION RADIATION

Abstract

The subject of the paper is an analysis and a physical model of the occurrence of reversible failures in semiconductor diodes (when current-voltage characteristics of the devices are influenced by electromagnetic radiation (EMR)). The model is based on the mechanism with which the energy of currents induced by external EMR is converted into the energy of natural electromagnetic oscillations of solid-state components of radio units (transition radiation effect). The aim of the paper is to justify experimental studies on the basis of the proposed physical model of reversible failures (occurrence of negative resistance sections in current-voltage curve of semiconductor diodes). We determined external electromagnetic radiation and semiconductor device parameter ranges with which this physical model can be applied. We conducted some experiments to study the influence of pulsed electromagnetic radiation on the current-voltage characteristics of direct current diode sections. The experiments justified the presence of areas with negative differential resistance characteristic for the natural oscillation generation mode (an increase in forward current when the voltage drops). Our objectives are to perform experimental study of interactions between the currents induced by external EMR and electrostatic oscillations of a semiconductor structure. Such interactions results from conversion of energy of moving charges (induced currents) into energy of electromagnetic oscillations under conditions of transition radiation when the particle flux goes along the normal to a semiconductor structure boundary. The methods used are analytical methods, i.e. solving Maxwell's equations and medium equations in the framework of the hydrodynamic approach. The following resultswere obtained.

©   Knyazev V., Serkov A., Breslavets V., Yakovenko I., 2019

Experimental studies of behavior of semiconductor components of electrical radio units exposed to strong pulsed electromagnetic fields have been carried out. The nature of changes in the performance of semiconductor components has been studied. It has been shown that the impact of pulsed electromagnetic radiation is accompanied by currents in the conductive elements of the units. We define here a certain type of reversible failures of semiconductor radio units. Failures of this type occur due to interaction between the external radiation induced currents and own fields of radio equipment components. Such failures occurs in presence of transition radiation (when the current is directed along the normal to the boundary of the unit). We argue that such interactions lead to energy losses in induced currents due to excitation of natural oscillations in the units, i.e. the units enters an oscillation generation mode, which is characterized by a change in the current-voltage characteristics of radio devices. With the results of comparative analysis of the experimental and calculated data obtained in this work, it is possible to use the proposed physical model of reversible failures and calculated derived relationships to determine criteria of occurrence and quantitative characteristics of reversible failures in semiconductor diodes exposed to pulsed electromagnetic radiation (occurrence of S-shaped sections of direct current). Conclusion. The results obtained can be used to assess electromagnetic compatibility of active electronic devices (millimeter/submillimeter amplifiers, generators and transducers of electromagnetic oscillations) exposed to external pulsed electromagnetic fields. A comparative analysis of quantitative estimates of reversible failures of semiconductor devices depending on the spatial configuration of the affecting field (the induced current is normal to the structure boundary) allows us to solve the problem of optimizing the degree of distortion in the operating characteristics of these devices.