A comparison of reactor and accelerator sources for neutron effects testing

Hybrid circuits have been widely used for space and military applications. As a result, there is a requirement for determining how these circuits tolerate nuclear radiation. The paper compares reactor generated neutrons with accelerator generated neutrons for testing neutron tolerance of hybrid circuits. The paper presents data obtained by exposing hybrid circuits to both, neutrons from the University of Lowell Research Reactor and neutrons from the University's CN van-de-Graaff Accelerator. The cost of testing is presented for both the reactor and the accelerator as a function of sample size, unit cost, and number of exposures. The analysis shows that the cost of accelerator testing can be competitive and in some cases less expensive than reactor testing.