Single Particle Displacement Damage in Silicon

Single particle displacement damage events are reported in silicon diodes irradiated with252Cf and241Am. In situ measurements of reverse current show the result of displacement damage incurred from individual fission fragments in252Cf irradiated diodes. Discrete increases in reverse current exceeding 20 fA are measured. The increases are temporally correlated with fission fragment-induced ionization events. The ratio of the damage factor associated with fission fragments to the damage factor associated with alpha particles is in good agreement with the ratio of non-ionizing energy loss calculated for fission fragments to NIEL calculated for alpha particles.