L7 Radiation Effects On Electronics 2023

ELEC-E4240
Satellite Systems
Radiation effects
on electronics
Based on slides by
Alexandre Bosser
Former post-doctoral student at
Department of Electronics and Nanoengineering
School of Electrical Engineering
Anton Fetzer doctoral student at

Department of Electronics and Nanoengineering
School of Electrical Engineering Anton.Fetzer@aalto.fi 20.03.2023
Lecture outline
Radiation in Space
• Van Allen Belts
• Solar Particles
• Cosmic Rays
Radiation-matter interactions
• Electronic and nuclear stopping
• Linear Energy Transfer
Radiation effects on semiconductor devices
• Total Ionizing Dose
• Displacement damage
• Single-Event Effects
Radiation Hardness Assurance
• Component testing
• Hardening techniques
• COTS versus rad-hard
Radiation - Definition
Radiation is energy propagating in the form of particles or waves
• Electromagnetic radiation
gamma UV infrared radio
X-ray visible microwave
shorter wavelength longer wavelength
higher frequency lower frequency
higher energy lower energy
• Energetic particles: > 1% speed of light

electrons protons neutrons alphas heavy ions
NB: These are only the types of particles which are most relevant for
the field of radiation hardness assurance. Other types of radiation exist.
Radiation
from Space?
• Discovered in 1912
by Victor Hess
• Electrometer on balloon
• Increase in ionisation
with altitude
• Before: Radiation only
from rocks
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmic_ray
Radiation
in Space?
Van Allen, James A.
"Radiation belts around the Earth."
Scientific American 200.3 (1959): 39-47.
• Discovered in 1958
• First American satellite
Explorer 1 carried
radiation detector
• Reported 0 counts/s for
extended periods
→detector overwhelmed
https://astronomy.com/news/2018/01/explorer-1
Source: NOAA SWPC
Earth’s radiation belts

The Van Allen belts
• Earth magnetic field traps

particles
• Dynamics of the magnetic
field accelerates particles
• In vacuum particles can
travel long distances Source: NASA GSFC
• Concentrated over
equator
• Inner and Outer belt
• Named after
James Van-Allen
Earth’s radiation belts
The Van Allen belts
• Earth magnetic field traps

particles
• Dynamics of the magnetic
field accelerates particles
• In vacuum particles can
travel long distances Source: SPENVIS
• Concentrated over
equator
• Inner and Outer belt
• Named after
James Van-Allen
Earth’s radiation belts Source: NASA GSFC
South Atlantic Anomaly
Earth’s magnetic dipole is tilted and off-center…
…which brings the interior radiation belt closer to

the Earth above the South Atlantic
South Atlantic Anomaly
This results in a abnormally high particle flux above this area, called the South Atlantic
Anomaly (SAA).
Illustration at 500km:
Electron flux > 1 MeV Proton flux > 10 MeV
Source: SPENVIS
Radiation in interplanetary space
Solar Wind
• The Sun dominates the space radiation environment in the solar system
• Sun = plasma ball
• Mostly hydrogen and helium

nuclei and electrons
• Plasma heated by
nuclear fusion
• Convection creates
magnetic fields, which
extend throughout the solar
system
Source: NASA-GSFC
Solar Wind
In the Sun’s upper atmosphere, the corona, individual particles may get enough
energy to escape the Sun gravity and magnetic field
This stream of particles is Source: NOAA SWPC
called the solar wind
Composed mostly of
electrons, protons,
and a few heavy ions
Very low energies

(typ. 0.5 keV to 10 keV;
velocity 100s km/s)
Solar Energetic Particles
Instabilities in the Sun’s magnetic field can accelerate large amounts of plasma in
bursts known as coronal mass ejections, releasing solar energetic particles
Composed mostly of
electrons,
protons,
Intermediate energies
(typ. 10s keV to GeV;
nearing speed of light)
Solar Cycles
Solar activity fluctuates over CMEs are more frequent during high-activity
an 11-year cycle
Radiation at the poles
Solar energetic particles can be injected between “open” magnetic field lines…
Source: Jussi Murtosaari
… and ionize the gas atoms in the upper atmosphere;

De-exciting atoms emit light, creating Northern Lights
Spacecraft passing through the polar cusps receive more radiation

Galactic cosmic rays 104
Flux (m2 sr s GeV)-1

102
• Originate from other stars 10-1 (1 particle per m2-second)

and cataclysmic events in
10-4
deep space, sometimes
even from other galaxies 10-7
Knee
10-10 (1 particle per m2-year)
• Composed mostly of
protons (89%), 10-13
10-16
• Very high energies 10-19

(GeV and beyond,
10-22
observed up to 1020 eV; Ankle
relativistic speeds) 10-25 (1 particle per km2-year)
10-28
109 1011 1013 1015 1017 1019 1021
Energy (eV)
K. H. Kampert, “Cosmic rays and particle physics,” Acta Physica Hungarica A) Heavy Ion Physics,
vol. 14, no. 1-4, pp. 203–215, 2001, issn: 1219-7580. doi: 10.1556/aph.14.2001.1-4.20.
Radiation in interplanetary space Source: NASA-JPL
Galactic cosmic rays
Heliospheric magnetic field

deflects low-energy GCRs
GCRs
Source: NASA
Peak GCR flux during low solar activity!

Measurement units
Electromagnetic flux:
𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑦 J −2
⇨ ⇨ W m
𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑎 s · m2
Particle flux (parallel):

#Particles 1 −2 −1
⇨ ⇨ m s
time area s·m2
Particle flux (omnidirectional):

#Particles 1
⇨ 2 ⇨ m−2 s −1 sr −1
time area solid angle m ·s·sr
Values are often given per cm2

Measurement units
Particle energy: electronvolt (eV)
• Typical energies in space are keV, MeV, GeV, TeV
• 1 eV ≈ 1.602·10−19 J
Source: NASA
Radiation-matter
Interactions
Idaho National Laboratory

Argonne National Laboratory
Advanced Reactor Test Core
Cherenkov light emission
Photon-matter interactions
Microscopic effects
X-rays and γ-rays can interact with matter in several ways. For example:
Photoelectric effect Compton scattering Pair production > 1 MeV
Source: Saldaña et al., “High Density Devices Applied to a

Gamma-Camera Implementation”, 2012
Photon-matter interactions
Macroscopic effects
Photon absorption (probability of interaction) is governed by the equation:
−𝝁𝒙 With I the initial flux, I0 the transmitted flux, x the target
𝑰 = 𝑰𝟎 𝒆 thickness, and μ the linear attenuation coefficient
μ depends on the target density

and on the photon energy:
• Higher energy photons are
more penetrating
• Denser materials give more
attenuation
Credit: Perry Sprawls

Particle-matter interactions
Nuclear stopping
Low-energy incident charged particles can interact with the target atoms’ nuclei
through electrostatic forces:
-
-
+ +
+
-
Energy is transferred to the
- target atom nucleus
→ nuclear stopping
Electronic stopping
Incident charged particles can interact with the electrons of the target atoms through
electrostatic forces:
-
-
+ +
+
-
- target atom electrons
→ electronic stopping
Electronic stopping
Incident charged particles can interact with the electrons of the target atoms through
electrostatic forces:
-
-
+ +
+
-
- target atom electrons
→ electronic stopping
Electronic stopping
An energetic charged particle can ionise many atoms along its track
(Animation exaggerated. Energetic particles can pass many atoms without interacting at all)
A trail of free charge carriers (free electrons and holes) is left

in the wake of the incident particle
Nuclear reactions
High-energy hadrons can interact through the strong nuclear force with nuclei
For nuclear reactions to occur, the two nuclei must come sufficiently close to each
+ nuclei repel each other (function of Z)
other… but
=> Incoming particle must have enough energy to overcome the
coulomb barrier
-
-
+ ++
+
-
-
Note: for protons on silicon, the
Coulomb barrier is ≈ 3 MeV.
Bremsstrahlung
All accelerated charges emit electromagnetic radiation. Especially when v close to c

Radiated power proportional to mass-4 up to mass-6
 Electrons emit ≈ 1013 times more bremsstrahlung than protons at same velocity
Consequence: high-energy electrons emit X-rays when going through matter
-
+ +
- +
-
Summary
Energetic particles can:

• Ionise atoms in the target → Ionising Dose
• Displace atoms → Displacement Damage
• Activate the target (at high energies)
Quantifying ionization
Unit for ionizing dose (total energy deposited via ionization): Gray (Gy)
• 1 Gy = 1 J/kg
• In US literature the rad is used; 1 Gy = 100 rad
• Not valid for living tissue! (the Sievert is used for equivalent dose)
Orders of magnitude:
• Lethal dose for a human: LD50 = 4 Gray (400 rad) (full body)
• Most commercial components fail at a few krad
• Rad-hard ICs can survive more than 10,000 Gy (1 Mrad)
Stopping Power
The ionization caused by a particle as it travels through matter can be
quantified by the Linear Energy Transfer (LET): equivalent to electronic
stopping power
MeV
⇨
cm
but values are often given as
MeV∙cm2
⇨
mg
to allow comparison of different target densities
Dose rate from a monoenergetic collimated beam with flux F [m–2 s–1]:
Stopping Power
Typical curve for stopping power of Protons vs energy:
Note:
• High-energy particles
can travel far
• Low-energy particles
lose their energy rapidly
Credit: A. C. Kraan, 2015, using NIST data

Stopping Power Bragg peak
Stopping vs energy Stopping vs range

Credit: A. C. Kraan et al., 2015, using NIST data Credit: G. A. P. Cirrone et al., 2012
Stopping Power
100 MeV
1 50 MeV 150 MeV 200 MeV 250 MeV
Proton LET (MeV.cm2.mg-1)

0.5
0
0 10 20 30 40
Depth in water (cm)
Range increases rapidly with energy !
Photons do not have a Bragg Peak!

Particle shielding
Typical CubeSat
shielding: 2 mm Al
Cuts off up to 1 MeV

electrons and 20 MeV
protons
Higher energy part of the

spectrum isn’t affected
much
Shielding against protons
Shielding against electrons
Shielding
Radiation Effects on
Semiconductor
Devices
Break?
Radiation effects on components
Overview
Radiation effects on components can be classified into categories:
Radiation effects
Cumulative effects Single-Event Effects (SEE)
Total ionizing Displacement SEU SHE SEFI SEL SEB SEGR …

dose damage
(TID) (DD)
Caused by Caused by Caused by

electronic stopping nuclear stopping high LET
Total Ionizing Dose
TID effects are caused by positive charge accumulation in insulators and at layer interfaces
Charge carriers are Vcc

created in oxide
Free electrons drift; Metal
holes are trapped
SiO2
Depends heavily on
electric field, oxide
quality, and
temperature Silicon
GND
Total Ionizing Dose
Trapped positive charges attract electrons, creating image charges in the surrounding
semiconductor
 Creation of parasitic leakage paths, threshold voltage shifts
Affects mostly CMOS (complementary metal-oxide semiconductor) devices
Gate oxide Gate Source (N type)
Insulation trench
Drain (N type)
Substrate (P type)
Source: A. Bosser, dissertation, 2017

Total Ionizing Dose
semiconductor
In bipolar transistors:
Source: Space Radiation Effects on Microelectronics course from JPL, J.F. Conley
Total Ionizing Dose
semiconductor
In SOI (Silicon on Insulator) devices:
Total Ionizing Dose
• Bias voltage and temperature can have a strong influence on TID response
• Powering down a device can improve radiation response
• But the reverse can also be true!
Total Ionizing Dose
• Over time, TID effects can be reduced by annealing

• → Strong impact of bias and temperature
• Some bipolar devices exhibit Enhanced Low-Dose Rate Sensitivity

(ELDRS)
• Problem: in space, dose rate is always low (max. a few rad/h in LEO)
• But testing at low dose rate is expensive (sometimes impossible)!
Displacement Damage
Nuclear collisions can create vacancies and interstitials in semiconductors
x
Displacement Damage
• Energy lost to DD is called Non-
Ionizing Energy Loss (NIEL)
• Threshold displacement energy in
Si: 21 eV
• A 1 MeV neutron or proton can
produce a 50 keV recoil atom
which then can knock out several
other atoms !
Source: Johnston, NSREC short course 2000

Displacement Damage
This creates intermediary energy levels within the bandgap
Conduction
band
Valence band
Generation Recombination Trapping Tunneling
Leakage Minority Carrier Leakage

current carrier lifetime removal current
Source: C. Poivey and G. Hopkinson, ESA presentation, 2009

Displacement Damage
Effects of displacement damage:
• Bipolar ICs: lower gain, increased base current, increased leakage
• Diodes: increased leakage and forward voltage drop
• Solar cells: reduced short-circuit current, open-circuit voltage, max. power
• LEDs and other optoelectronics: decreased efficiency
• Optical materials (glasses, etc): reduced transmission
• CCDs: increased dark current, hot spots, bright columns
• Particle detectors: decreased responsivity
Source: C. Poivey and G. Hopkinson, ESA presentation, 2009

Single-Event Effects
• Broad category of events, caused by the passage of a single energetic particle
• Different subcategories exist, depending on the type of component
• Some are destructive, some are not
• Statistical phenomenon; can occur in pristine devices
Single-Event Effects (SEE)
SEU SHE SEFI SEL SEB SEGR …

When a charged particle passes through a reverse-biased junction...
Source Gate Drain

...it generates free These free
charge carriers charge carriers
(free electrons and are swept by the
holes) along its electric field and
path. leave the
junction...
Current
The result: for a moment, current flows!

Time
Single-Event Transients (SET): Transient changes on voltages, currents or data
Source: F. Lima Kastensmidt, UFRGS personal page

Single-Event Upsets (SEU): Change of memory cell logic state
SEUs affecting only one bit are called Single-Bit Upsets (SBU)
SEUs affecting several cells are called Multiple-Cell Upsets (MCU)
SEUs affecting several bits within one word are called Multiple Bit Upsets (MBU)

Single-Event Latch-ups (SEL): high internal parasitic current
Source
Gate
GND Drain VDD
P+ N+ N+ P+ P+ N+
N-well
P-type substrate
Charge collection (e.g. after a particle strike) across a reverse-biased junction can trigger
parasitic thyristor (PNPN structure)
Heavily dependent on temperature

Single-Event Gate Rupture (SEGR): a particle-induced plasma filament applies the drain
voltage across the gate oxide, which breaks down
15 V
120 V
Images: www.allaboutcircuits.com
Single-Event Upsets (SEU) can Address decoder (column) / precharge

also occur after an ion strike on
the device periphery 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
e.g. address decoder struck
Address decoder (row)

1
0 1
0 1
0 1
0 1
0 1
0 1
0 1
0
during write operation:
 several cells are selected
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
 data corruption 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Sense amplifiers
Single Event Upset for Uosat-3 spacecraft

Radiation
Hardness
Assurance
Introduction
Radiation Hardness Assurance (RHA) designates the processes used to:
• Determine the radiation environment for the mission
• Determine the radiation response of selected parts
• Enhance the reliability of spacecraft systems under radiation
• Ensure the spacecraft performs its mission with an acceptable failure rate
RHA involves radiation testing of components to generate radiation data
RHA is a cross-disciplinary theme (involves mission planning, electrical design, mechanical

shielding, thermal constraints, etc…)
Radiation environment simulation
A variety of software are available to simulate the radiation environment in (near) space
Ex.: SPENVIS (SPace ENVironment Information System), developed by a consortium led by the
Royal Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy (BIRA-IASB) for ESA
https://www.spenvis.oma.be/
Radiation environment simulation
Component radiation response
Once the mission shielded spectra have been determined, the components selected for the
mission must be checked for radiation hardness
Two possibilities:
• Data already exists
• ESCC European Preferred Parts List (EPPL)
• ESCC Qualified Parts List (QPL)
• NASA GSFC Qualified Parts List Directory (QPLD)
• MASA JPL Rad Archive
• SmallSat Parts On Orbit Now (SPOON)
• Data does not exist
• ESA/JAXA/MIL Qualified Manufacturers List (QML)
• Radiation Testing
Component testing: TID
TID testing:
• Cobalt-60 irradiators (e.g. ESA/ESTEC facility)
• Electron accelerators
Images: ESCIES website

Component testing: SEE
SEE testing is generally done with protons and heavy-ions at particle accelerator facilities
In Europe ESA maintains European Component Irradiation Facilities:
• Radiation Effects Facility (RADEF), JYFL, Jyväskylä
• Heavy Ion Facility, UCL, Louvain-La-Neuve, Belgium
• Proton Irradiation Facility (PIF), PSI, Switzerland
Different heavy ions are used for different LETs
Proton irradiations are done separately, different

energies are used
RADEF SEE test lines

𝑵𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔
• Cross section (XS or σ) for a SEE measures 𝝈 =
𝑷𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒍𝒆 𝑭𝒍𝒖𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆
the probability for a SEE to occur
• The Cross-Section is a function of LET
• Below LETth the collected charge in the SV
is too low to induce the SEE
• Saturation cross section (XSsat or σsat)
defines the upper limit for SEE.
• An ion injecting more charge in SV will
not increase SEE probability
LET threshold (LETth) and Saturation Cross

Section (σsat) are key measures of Single Event
Effects (SEE) Source: F. Sturesson, short course
based on S. Duzellier course
Mitigation strategies
• Radiation shielding
• Radiation hard components
• Component and technology
selection
• Safety elements in electronics
design
• Redundant hardware
• Overprovisioning
• Redundant software
• Power cycling
• Keep it simple in space (leave
computation on ground)
Component shielding
Advantage:
• Very easy to implement
Problems:
• Adds weight (i.e. launch cost)
• Takes space
Possibility to tailor shielding to most

sensitive areas (e.g. using FASTRAD)
Adding high-Z metals (e.g. Ti, Ta, Pb)
can improve bremsstrahlung shielding
Image: FASTRAD website

Cold redundant systems
Advantage:
• Relatively straightforward to
implement
Problems:
• Arbiter is single point of failure
• Backups need to be radiation
tolerant
Software
Basic Advanced
• Ability to reprogram/renew the • Resilient algorithmic data structures
program memory • Software driven triple modular
• Extra minimal copy of the software in redundancy
the memory to run from Safe Mode • Specialized compilers that interject
• Use of watchdogs error detection code
• Error correcting code (ECC) • Can be costly to performance and
• cyclic redundancy check (CRC) memory space
• Memory scrubbers • Limited benefits
• Defensive programming (runtime
precondition and postcondition
checking, checking all possible
cases)
Triple modular redundancy
• Advantages
• Straightforward to implement
• Tools available for FPGAs
• Problems
• Big Size, more mass
• Voter is a single point of
failure
• Draws more power
Radiation-hardened components
Using radiation-tolerant or radiation-hard components may sometimes be the only

solution
Problems:
• Rad-hard version may not exist
• Rad-hard-version may not be available (e.g. ITAR restrictions)
• Rad-hard version may have poor performance (when compared to Commercial-
Off-The-Shelf, COTS)
• Rad-hard version may be extremely expensive!
Processing Units
Large satellites
Limited performance
- Technology lock-in for very long times (~10 years)
LEON series processors - High clock rates susceptible to radiation caused
- SPARC instruction set architecture (RISC) transients
• GNU LGPL, GNU GPL, FOSS
- RH techniques require extra silicon space or
- Used in ESA project materials that have other limitations
- Radiation Hardened By Design (RHBD) - Heat removal issues
RAD series processors FPGA

- PowerPC instruction set architecture (RISC) • Often for specialized function controllers
• Proprietary • Sometimes for processors, SoC and ASIC
- Used in NASA projects • Radiation hardened options available
- Radiation hardened By Process (RHBP)
ARM based solutions are on the way
Slide from last week lecture on OBDH by Nemanja Jovanovic

Processing Units
Small satellites
Mostly microcontrollers
- COTS
- Automotive components
- Plenty of peripheral module options
- Often ARM instruction set architecture
Texas Instruments MSP430

- FRAM – Performs better in radiation environments than usual RAM technologies
VORAGO
- ARM microcontrollers
- HARDSIL radiation hardening (RHBP)

Radiation Hardening
Radiation Hardening By Process Radiation Hardening By Design
→ Same circuit but special → Same manufacturing process
manufacturing process but special circuit
• Different substrate materials
• Silicon on Insulator (SOI)
• Error correcting code memory
• Silicon on Sapphire (SOS) • Watchdogs and monitoring circuits
• Integrating barriers between logic • Spatial optimization
cells • Triple modular redundancy
• Logic cells constructed from higher
number of transistors
• HARDSIL
• Stacks protective layers vertically
• Applicable to existing designs

Summary
The Radiation environment in orbit is hostile to spacecraft

→ Mitigation necessary
• Analysis of the environment

• Optimize shielding
• Component selection
• Testing campaigns
Backup Slides:
Example:
Radiation-hardened processor
RAD750 and COTS counterparts
The rad-hard version is

prohibitively expensive
It’s obsolete technology!
RAD750 PowerPC 750 Intel Core I7

(Rover Curiosity, 2011) (iMac G3, 1998) (MacBook Air, 2011)
200 MHz 233 MHz 1.8 GHz (x9)
1 core 1 core 4 cores (x4)
64 kb cache 64 kb cache 4 Mb cache (x64)
5 watts 7.3 watts 17 watts (x3)
$200.000 ~$100 ~$200 (/1000)
Example prices:
• MELF BJANS1N6642US Diode

12 pcs= 1113 USD
• Single AD converter 12 bit ~ 2650€
(35 weeks procurement)
• Operational Amplifier, qualified:
~571 USD (25 weeks).
Commercial ~5€
• FPGAs:
On the other hand, using COTS is risky

Radiation test campaigns are very expensive, beam may be hard to obtain
RADEF beam ≈ 700 €/h

PIF beam ≈ 1000 €/h
ESTEC Co-60 facility reserved for ESA projects
 One must weight priorities and adapt RHA procedures for existing budget
This problem also affects space agencies and major companies, who are also
increasingly using COTS
Typical component hardness
Commercial:
• Process and Design limit the radiation hardness
• No lot radiation controls; Customer performs rad testing, assumes all risk
• Total Dose: 2 to 10 krad (typical)
• SEU Threshold LET: 5 Mev/mg/cm2
• SEU Error Rate: 10-5 errors/bit-day (typical)
Rad-Tolerant:
• Design assures rad hardness up to a certain level
• No lot radiation controls; usually tested for functional fail only, risky. Customer should test.
• Total Dose: 20 to 50 krad (typical)
• SEU Threshold LET: 20 MeV/mg/cm2
• SEU Error Rate: 10-7 - 10-8 errors/bit-day
Rad-Hard:
• Designed and processed for particular hardness level
• Wafer lot radiation tested
• Total Dose: > 200 krad to >1 Mrad
• SEU Threshold LET: 80-150 MeV/mg/cm2
• SEU Error Rate: 10-10 to 10-12 errors/bit-day
A few mission anecdotes
Mission anecdotes
Mars Science Laboratory
The Curiosity rover (MSL) contains
a dual, cold-redundant RAD750
computer – 200,000 USD a piece
Designed to withstand 200 krad to

1 Mrad, and suffer no more than 1
SEE during mission lifetime
SEE occurred twice in 2013, putting

MSL in safe mode each time -> 10
days lost in diagnostics!
Mission anecdotes
Juno planetary probe
Juno probe orbiting Jupiter since
July 2016
Probe design and orbit constrained

by radiation levels
Electronics contained in a 1.5 cm-

thick titanium vault
Dose levels sufficient to cause

material damage outside the vault!
(20 Mrad surface dose)
Mission anecdotes
Hubble Space Telescope
HST detector noise increases when passing
through SAA
Noise levels so high that exposure must be

interrupted
=> SAA passages limit the longest possible

uninterrupted exposures, even in the
Continuous Viewing Zones, to about 12
hours (or 8 orbits).

L7 Radiation Effects On Electronics 2023

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ELEC-E4240

Anton Fetzer doctoral student at

Radiation is energy propagating in the form of particles or waves

• Energetic particles: > 1% speed of light

Earth’s radiation belts

• Earth magnetic field traps

• Earth magnetic field traps

…which brings the interior radiation belt closer to

Electron flux > 1 MeV Proton flux > 10 MeV

• Sun = plasma ball

• Mostly hydrogen and helium

Very low energies

… and ionize the gas atoms in the upper atmosphere;

Spacecraft passing through the polar cusps receive more radiation

Flux (m2 sr s GeV)-1

• Originate from other stars 10-1 (1 particle per m2-second)

• Very high energies 10-19

Galactic cosmic rays

Heliospheric magnetic field

Peak GCR flux during low solar activity!

Particle flux (parallel):

Particle flux (omnidirectional):

Values are often given per cm2

Idaho National Laboratory

Photoelectric effect Compton scattering Pair production > 1 MeV

Source: Saldaña et al., “High Density Devices Applied to a

μ depends on the target density

Credit: Perry Sprawls

A trail of free charge carriers (free electrons and holes) is left

All accelerated charges emit electromagnetic radiation. Especially when v close to c

Energetic particles can:

but values are often given as

Typical curve for stopping power of Protons vs energy:

Credit: A. C. Kraan, 2015, using NIST data

Stopping vs energy Stopping vs range

Proton LET (MeV.cm2.mg-1)

Depth in water (cm)

Range increases rapidly with energy !

Photons do not have a Bragg Peak!

Cuts off up to 1 MeV

Higher energy part of the

Cumulative effects Single-Event Effects (SEE)

Total ionizing Displacement SEU SHE SEFI SEL SEB SEGR …

Caused by Caused by Caused by

Charge carriers are Vcc

Source: A. Bosser, dissertation, 2017

In SOI (Silicon on Insulator) devices:

• Over time, TID effects can be reduced by annealing

• Some bipolar devices exhibit Enhanced Low-Dose Rate Sensitivity

Source: Johnston, NSREC short course 2000

Leakage Minority Carrier Leakage

Source: C. Poivey and G. Hopkinson, ESA presentation, 2009

• Bipolar ICs: lower gain, increased base current, increased leakage

• Diodes: increased leakage and forward voltage drop

• Solar cells: reduced short-circuit current, open-circuit voltage, max. power

• LEDs and other optoelectronics: decreased efficiency

• Optical materials (glasses, etc): reduced transmission

• CCDs: increased dark current, hot spots, bright columns

• Particle detectors: decreased responsivity

Source: C. Poivey and G. Hopkinson, ESA presentation, 2009

Single-Event Effects (SEE)

SEU SHE SEFI SEL SEB SEGR …

Source Gate Drain