Design and analysis of NC-FinFET using Pb(Zr_yTi_1-y)O₃ under high ionising radiations

Transistor performance degrades in the presence of radiation due to increased interface trap charges. Radiation analysis is used to determine the impact of radiation level up to which the transistor shows its normal behaviour. The present study investigates the total ionizing dose (TID) impact on the proposed negative capacitance FinFET (NC-FinFET) by replacing SiO₂ oxide layer with a thin ferroelectric material Pb(Zr_yTi_1-y)O₃ (lead zirconate titanate) layer. In this work, radiation-induced trap density (V_og⁺, V_odH⁺) analysis further confirms the enhanced charge compensation capability of PZT, thereby mitigating leakage and improving device stability. The comparison is made for fixed structural parameters with specific source/drain and channel regions doping of both transistors. TID effects are observed on drain current, channel electric field, potential, threshold voltage, transconductance and gate capacitances. The simulations were conducted using advanced 3D TCAD CRad tools to evaluate radiation impact on critical device parameters, mainly threshold voltage (V_th), standby current (I_off), electrostatic and subthreshold performance. NC-FinFET exhibits a negligible V_th shift of 0.0056%, superior Ion/Ioff ratio of ~ 10¹⁰ and improved SS of 39.9 mV/dec post-TID, compared to SiO₂ (I_on/I_off ~ 10⁶, SS = 50.4 mV/dec) and HfO₂ (I_on/I_off ~ 10⁷, SS = 38.2 mV/dec). These results establish the proposed NC-FinFET as a radiation-hardened solution for next-generation space and defence electronics.