Abstract

Experimental measurements and 2-dimensional computer simulations illustrate that the use of a low temperature grown GaAs (LT GaAs) buffer layer in GaAs FETs reduces ion-induced charge collection by two orders of magnitude. A similar reduction in collected charge is observed for above-band-gap pulsed laser excitation, in which the bulk of the carriers are deposited above the LT GaAs buffer layer, reiterating the central role of charge-enhancement (gain) mechanisms in determining the single-event vulnerability of GaAs FET-based circuitry.

© 1997 Optical Society of America