Single event effects in carbon nanotube electronics

Recent studies on carbon nanotube (CNT) field-effect transistors (FETs) and integrated circuits (ICs) have shown their potential in radiation tolerance. However, most studies have focused on the displacement damage (DD) effect and total ionizing dose (TID) effect, while the single event effect (SEE) remains insufficiently explored. In this work, we thoroughly examined the SEE of the CNT devices. Using a pulse laser as the irradiation source, the CNT FETs and static random-access memory (SRAM) exhibited an excellent radiation tolerance with a laser threshold energy of 5 nJ/pulse for SEE. Additionally, we used technology computer-aided design (TCAD) tools to explore SEE mechanisms of the CNT-based electronics. Owing to the nanoscale cross-sections and the special SEE mechanism of CNT, the CNT FETs and SRAMs present higher SEE tolerance compared to the Si-based devices, meaning that CNT based ICs can be an excellent technology for the applications of outer space exploration.