Cosmic-Ray Neutrons on the Ground and in the Atmosphere

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....

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:MRS bulletin 2003-02, Vol.28 (2), p.131-135
Main Author: Goldhagen, Paul
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Cosmic rays
Energy distribution
microelectronics
Neutron spectra
Neutrons
radiation
Single event upsets
single-event upsets (SEUs)
Soft errors
Technical Feature
Thermal energy
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Summary: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.
ISSN:0883-7694
1938-1425
DOI:10.1557/mrs2003.41