Use of PuBe source to simulate neutron-induced single event upsets in static RAMs

Abstract

Neutron-induced single-event upsets were measured in static memory devices using a 10-curie PuBe source. The PuBe source conservatively overestimates the spectrum of fast neutrons emitted by a radioisotope thermoelectric generator (RTG). For the 93L422, the neutron-induced upset rate compared favorably with calculated values derived using the burst-generation concept. By accounting for the production of the ionizing particles by the PuBe and RTG neutron spectra, convenient upper-bound single-event-upset rates for memory devices near an RTG can be derived.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">&gt;</ETX>