Pages: 132-137

Authors: Koviljka STANKOVIĆ, Milos VUJISIĆ, Edin DOLIĆANIN

Abstract

The wide-spread use of semiconductor and gas-filled diodes for non-linear over-voltage protection results in a variety of possible working conditions. It is therefore essential to have a thorough insight into their reliability in exploitation environments which imply exposure to ionizing radiation. The aim of this paper is to investigate the influence of irradiation on over-voltage diode characteristics by exposing the diodes to californium-252 combined neutron/gamma radiation field. The irradiation of semiconductor over-voltage diodes causes severe degradation of their protection characteristics. On the other hand, gas-filled over-voltage diodes exhibit a temporal improvement of performance. The results are presented with the accompanying theoretical interpretations of the observed changes in over-voltage diode behaviour, based on the interaction of radiation with materials constituting the diodes.

Key words: diodes, nuclear radiation effects, over-voltage protection

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