Radiation Effects in a PIN Diode

Application ID: 74891


This tutorial performs steady-state and transient analysis of the response of a PIN diode to constant and pulsed radiation, respectively. The effect of radiation is modeled as spatially uniform generation of electron-hole pairs within the device. At high dose rates the separation of the generated charges causes the reduction of the interior electric field and prolonged storage of excess carriers. A quantitative prediction of this phenomenon is only possible with numerical simulation, since analytical solution is unattainable. Several techniques for achieving convergence in the cases of high reverse bias, field-dependent mobility, and time-dependent studies are demonstrated. The computed carrier concentrations and electric field distribution agree well with the reference paper.

This model example illustrates applications of this type that would nominally be built using the following products: