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Cosmic-Ray Neutrons on the Ground and in the Atmosphere

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 January 2011

Paul Goldhagen
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Abstract

Neutrons from collisions of cosmic rays with the nuclei of atoms in the atmosphere are an irremovable external radiation that causes single-event upsets in microelectronic devices. Predicting soft error rates requires knowledge of the flux and energy distribution of the cosmic-ray-induced neutrons. This article reviews cosmic-ray neutrons in the atmosphere and on the ground, the factors that determine their intensity, and recent calculations and state-of-the-art measurements of neutron spectra covering 12 decades of energy, from the thermal energy range up to 10 GeV.

Keywords

cosmic raysmicroelectronicsneutronsradiationsingle-event upsets (SEUs)soft errors
Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Bulletin , Volume 28 , Issue 2: Single-Event Upsets in Microelectronics , February 2003 , pp. 131 - 135
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2003

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