CALIFORNIUM-252 SYSTEM FOR SINGLE EVENT UPSET TESTING OF MICROELECTRONICS.

ADVANCES IN ELECTRONIC DEVICE TECHNOLOGY HAVE LED TO INCREASED PACKING DENSITIES WHILE POWER CONSUMPTION HAS DROPPED. IN GENERAL, THIS TREND IS BENEFICIAL TO AVIONICS AND SPACE APPLICATIONS EXCEPT THAT A NEW FAILURE MODE HAS ACCOMPANIED THIS MINIATURIZATION. IN HIGH ENERGY PARTICLE ENVIROMENTS, SUCH AS ENCOUNTERED IN SPACE, MICROELECTRONIC DEVICES HAVE BEEN SHOWN TO BE SUSCEPTIBLE TO TRANSIENT OR PERMANANT FAILURES CALLED SINGLE EVENT UPSETS (SEU). TO QUALIFY AND DESIGN MICROELECTRONIC COMPONENTS AGAINST SEU'S, THERE IS THE NEED FOR A SMALL, LOW COST SINGLE EVENT UPSET TESTING SYSTEM AS A SUPPLEMENT OR ALTERNATIVE TO ACCELERATOR AND HIGH-ALTITUDE OR SPACE TESTING FACILITIES. THE APPROACH PROPOSED IN THIS DOCUMENT IS BASED ON THE DEMONSTRATED CAPABILITY OF CALIFORNIUM-252 SYSTEM TO MEASURE THE SEU CROSS SECTION FOR MICROELECTRONIC DEVICES. THE MAIN ADVANTAGES OF THIS TECHNIQUE ARE THAT IT IS SIMPLE, ACCURATE, COMPACT AND ESSENTIALLY REAL TIME. HOWEVER, TO DEVELOP A SEU TESTING SYSTEM FOR STATE-OF-THE-ART MICROELECTRONIC DEVICES FOR COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS IN THE SEMICONDUCTER MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY, SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENTS OF PRESENT EXPERIMENTAL FACILITIES MUST BE INCORPORATED INTO A MORE ADVANCED SYSTEM. THE PROPOSED PHASE I EFFORT IS TO DESIGN A FULLY COMPUTERIZED SYSTEM BASED ON CALIFORNIUM-252 SOURCE TO TEST MICROELECTRONIC DEVICES AGAINST SEU'S.