[en] Radiation hardness of furnace N₂O-nitrided gate oxides was investigated for both n- and p-channel MOSFET's by exposing devices in an X-ray radiation system. An enhanced degradation was observed in both control and N₂O-nitrided MOSFET's with reduction in the channel length. Compared to MOSFET's with control oxides, N₂O-nitrided MOSFET's show an enhanced radiation hardness against positive charge buildup and interface state generation. The authors also studied channel hot-carrier effects on the irradiated devices with subsequent low-temperature forming gas annealing. Results show that N₂O-nitrided oxides have a greatly enhanced resistance against radiation-induced neutral electron trap generation