Method and apparatus for increasing resistance of bipolar buried layer integrated circuit devices to single-event upsets

摘要

Bipolar transistors fabricated in separate buried layers of an integrated circuit chip are electrically isolated with a built-in potential barrier established by doping the buried layer with a polarity opposite doping in the chip substrate. To increase the resistance of the bipolar transistors to single-event upsets due to ionized particle radiation, the substrate is biased relative to the buried layer with an external bias voltage selected to offset the built-in potential just enough (typically between about 0.1 to 0.2 volt) to prevent an accumulation of charge in the buried-layer-substrate junction.