Improved /sup 252/Cf single-event-upset simulation technique for testing microelectronics

Considerable effort is now being expended at accelerators to test microelectronics for single event upset (SEU) from energetic heavy ions. Testing with /sup 252/Cf spontaneous fission fragments is far less expensive and more readily accessible than accelerator testing, but uncertainties associated with currently used averages over the fragment distribution severely limit the validity of californium testing. This paper presents a new approach, which utilizes the properties of the californium fission process to significantly reduce the uncertainties inherent in current testing systems. By measuring SEU in coincidence with the kinetic energy and the mass, or just the kinetic energy, of the oppositely emitted fission fragment, /sup 252/Cf can be used to provide an accurate determination of both the mass of the fragment and its LET as it penetrates the DUT. The kinetic energy and mass of fission fragments can readily by determined by the E - dE/dX measurement technique. Representative systems utilizing gridded Fisch ionization chambers, surface barrier silicon diodes, or thin film plastic scintillators have been identified and evaluated as being suitable for this application.