Observation of heavy ion induced transients in linear circuits

Abstract

Linear integrated circuits response is susceptible to be disturbed by heavy ion induced transients. The charge deposited by the ion in an amplifier stage can result in a voltage swing which may be amplified again in the following stages of the circuits. Events of this type are thought to be responsible for anomalies in the Earth Sensor of NASA/CNES TOPEX/POSEIDON satellite. First tests have been performed by Koga et al. (1993). In this paper, we present data which confirm Dr. Koga's findings.