For instance, deep-space missions will likely encounter neutrons from background radiation or radioisotope thermal generators (RTGs), as well as other harmful nuclear sources (Fig. 1). And terrestrial and atmospheric environments may be exposed to galactic cosmic rays (GCRs) along with secondary emissions.
Moreover, long-term radiation effects in space can affect astronauts and spacecraft electronics. Total ionizing dose (TID) levels, which will be received at the component die level, are calculated for active parts while taking into account the spacecraft's defensive shielding. Protons and electrons will typically lead to a cumulation of long-term damage in space.
Called displacement damage (DD), it will cause extensive non-ionizing damage (this is usually not applicable to CMOS microelectronics). Transient effects can be affected by single-charged particle effects (single-event effects or SEEs) along with hard (destructive) or soft errors.
Designers can combat such damage with a radiation-hardened by design (RHBD) method, which will help meet performance, cost, and availability needs. Consequently, demand is great for high-performance semiconductors in real-time imaging applications among the space and defense sectors. However, the availability of components is quite limited, creating challenges within the RHBD industry.
This, coupled with high radiation-tolerant electronics larger than 1 milligray (MGy), a unit of absorbed radiation equivalent to one thousandth of a gray, or 0.1 rad for nuclear fusion and small modular reactors (SMRs), is restricted due to performance and limited availability.