Proton and Gamma Ray Induced Gain Degradation in Bipolar Transistor

This paper describes the results of the effect of 24 MeV proton and 60 Co γ-irradiation on the collector characteristics and forward current gain of commercial bipolar transistor (npn 2N2219A). The transistor has been exposed to these radiations in the biased condition and the collector characteristics and forward current gain have been measured as a function of proton fluence and γ-dose. The observation is that both the proton and γ-irradiation induce significant gain degradation in the transistor. The results are discussed in terms of displacement damage produced by energetic protons and y -radiation in the bulk of the semiconductor.