A review of the techniques used for modeling single-event effects in power MOSFET's

Heavy ions can trigger catastrophic failure modes in power metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFET's). Single-event effects (SEE), namely, single-event burnout (SEE), and single-event gate rupture (SEGR), of power MOSFET's are catastrophic failure mechanisms that are initiated by the passage of a heavy ion through the device structure. Various analytical, semianalytical, and simulation models have been developed to help explain these phenomena. This paper presents a review of these models and explains their merits and limitations. New results are included to illustrate the approaches.