By Diego de Azcuénaga

The architecture of power management systems for spaceborne platforms demands semiconductor devices capable of operating deterministically under continuous ionizing radiation fluxes. In traditional space-grade LDO linear regulators, silicon MOSFETs serve as the primary pass element. However, prolonged exposure to TID induces the generation of electron-hole pairs within the gate dielectric of these devices. Holes trapped at the oxide interface shift the threshold voltage (V_th) and irreversibly degrade transconductance (g_m), typically by magnitudes exceeding 20%. This parametric degradation introduces severe non-linearities into the analog feedback loop, forcing designers to incorporate over-dimensioned design margins or complex dynamic compensation networks to prevent control loop oscillation or voltage hunting over the mission lifespan.

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