CORRELATION OF PROTON DAMAGE OF SILICON WITH NEUTRON AND ELECTRON DAMAGE

The damage introduced in a semiconductor is made evident by a change in minority-carrier lifetime. Irradiation by electrons produces relatively low-energy silicon-atom primary recoils which, in turn, produce isolated defect centers. Neutron irradiation produces high-energy recoils which create clusters of damage, as first discussed by Gossick. In the case of proton irradiation, both high- and low-energy recoils are produced. This physical process is used to derive a quantitative means of extrapolating proton damage from electron and neutron data.