Measurements of Low-Energy Protons Using a Silicon Detector for Application to SEE Testing

Cazzaniga, Carlo; Alía, Rubén García; Coronetti, Andrea; Biłko, Kacper; Morilla, Yolanda; Martín-Holgado, Pedro; Kastriotou, Maria; Frost, Christopher

doi:10.1109/tns.2021.3123814

Cited by 5 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 33 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The experimentally measured SEU cross section upon irradiation of 16 devices is (4.76 ± 0.78) × 10 −16 cm 2 /bit. This SRAM was also tested with low-energy protons at CNA [31,33,35] with peak cross section > 10 −9 cm 2 /bit. Finally, to assess the relative impact of thermal neutrons in actual environments, it is necessary to relate the corresponding thermal neutron soft error rate to that from high-energy neutrons.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Analysis of the Significance of the ¹⁴N(n, p) ¹⁴C Reaction for Single-Event Upsets Induced by Thermal Neutrons in SRAMs

Coronetti

Alía

Lucsanyi

et al. 2023

IEEE Trans. Nucl. Sci.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The thermal neutron threat to the reliability of electronic devices caused by 10 B capture is a recognized issue that prompted changes in the manufacturing process of electronic devices with the aim of limiting as much as possible the presence of this isotope nearby device sensitive volumes. 14 N can also capture thermal neutrons and release low-energy protons (through the 14 N(n,p) 14 C reaction) that have high enough linear energy transfer to cause single-event upsets (SEU). Typically, nitrogen is used in thin barrier layers made of TaN or TiN or even as insulator in the form of Si3N4. Numerical simulations on sensitive volumes calibrated on proton and ion experimental data and with an accurate description of the metallization layer on top of the sensitive region show that the presence of nitrogen in these thin barrier layers can be enough to justify the experimentally observed thermal neutron SEU cross section for a static random access memory sensitive to low-energy protons. Nevertheless, the expected SEU cross section from thermal neutrons is usually a few orders of magnitude lower than that of high-energy particles, therefore, not representing an important threat in atmospheric applications. At the same time, for high-energy accelerators, the contribution to the total soft error rate could become substantial, though easy to handle by margins.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Analysis of the Significance of the ¹⁴N(n, p) ¹⁴C Reaction for Single-Event Upsets Induced by Thermal Neutrons in SRAMs

Coronetti

Alía

Lucsanyi

et al. 2023

IEEE Trans. Nucl. Sci.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Regarding the methodology, we used an approach in line with [ 23 ]. First, the proton beam was focused on a scintillator that was placed in the same sample holder as the device under test (DUT), to check the position, shape, and size of the beam to work with around 1 cm 2 spot size; this pencil area completely covers the sensitive area of the DUT.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

General Purpose Transistor Characterized as Dosimetry Sensor of Proton Beams

Moreno-Pérez

Ruiz-García

Martín-Holgado

et al. 2023

Sensors

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

A commercial pMOS transistor (MOSFET), 3N163 from Vishay (USA), has been characterized as a low-energy proton beam dosimeter. The top of the samples’ housing has been removed to guarantee that protons reached the sensitive area, that is, the silicon die. Irradiations took place at the National Accelerator Centre (Seville, Spain). During irradiations, the transistors were biased to improve the sensitivity, and the silicon temperature was monitored activating the parasitic diode of the MOSFET. Bias voltages of 0, 1, 5, and 10 V were applied to four sets of three transistors, obtaining an averaged sensitivity that was linearly dependent on this voltage. In addition, the short-fading effect was studied, and the uncertainty of this effect was obtained. The bias voltage that provided an acceptable sensitivity, (11.4 ± 0.9) mV/Gy, minimizing the uncertainty due to the fading effect (−0.09 ± 0.11) Gy was 1 V for a total absorbed dose of 40 Gy. Therefore, this off-the-shelf electronic device presents promising characteristics as a dosimeter sensor for proton beams.

show abstract

“…4 [19], [20]. In the case of detector I, the calibration involved a proton beam with 10 energies between 0.5 MeV and 2.97 MeV, also exploitable for electronics testing [21]. Detector II was calibrated with an alpha beam of 4 different energies between 2.97 MeV and 8.95 MeV.…”

Section: A Energy Calibration At Cnamentioning

confidence: 99%

Mixed-Field Radiation Monitoring and Beam Characterization Through Silicon Diode Detectors

Biłko,

Alía,

Barbero

et al. 2024

IEEE Trans. Nucl. Sci.

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

We present a calibration of a commercial silicon diode with proton and alpha beams and gamma rays. The diode together with a fast acquisition chain, can be exploited for both direct and indirect (through the secondary radiation field) beam characterization. Within this work, we demonstrate the detector capabilities of resolving single energy deposition events and independently measuring dose rate and beam flux. Profiting from the mixed radiation field in CERN's CHARM facility we show how the silicon detector can be exploited to characterize the mixed radiation field present in it, which in turn is used for validating the radiation tolerance of components and systems to be installed in the CERN accelerator complex.

show abstract

Measurements of Low-Energy Protons Using a Silicon Detector for Application to SEE Testing

Cited by 5 publications

References 33 publications

An Analysis of the Significance of the ¹⁴N(n, p) ¹⁴C Reaction for Single-Event Upsets Induced by Thermal Neutrons in SRAMs

An Analysis of the Significance of the ¹⁴N(n, p) ¹⁴C Reaction for Single-Event Upsets Induced by Thermal Neutrons in SRAMs

General Purpose Transistor Characterized as Dosimetry Sensor of Proton Beams

Mixed-Field Radiation Monitoring and Beam Characterization Through Silicon Diode Detectors

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About

Measurements of Low-Energy Protons Using a Silicon Detector for Application to SEE Testing

Cited by 5 publications

References 33 publications

An Analysis of the Significance of the 14N(n, p) 14C Reaction for Single-Event Upsets Induced by Thermal Neutrons in SRAMs

An Analysis of the Significance of the 14N(n, p) 14C Reaction for Single-Event Upsets Induced by Thermal Neutrons in SRAMs

General Purpose Transistor Characterized as Dosimetry Sensor of Proton Beams

Mixed-Field Radiation Monitoring and Beam Characterization Through Silicon Diode Detectors

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About

An Analysis of the Significance of the ¹⁴N(n, p) ¹⁴C Reaction for Single-Event Upsets Induced by Thermal Neutrons in SRAMs

An Analysis of the Significance of the ¹⁴N(n, p) ¹⁴C Reaction for Single-Event Upsets Induced by Thermal Neutrons in SRAMs