Characterizing energetic dependence of low-energy neutron-induced SEU and MCU and its influence on estimation of terrestrial SER in 65-nm Bulk SRAM

Liao, W.*; Ito, Kojiro*; Abe, Shinichiro   ; Mitsuyama, Yukio*; Hashimoto, Masanori*

Secondary cosmic-ray neutron-induced single event upset (SEU) is a cause of soft errors on micro electronic devices. Multiple cell upsets (MCUs) are particularly serious problems since it is difficult to recover MCUs. In this study, we have performed irradiation tests of neutrons on 65-nm bulk SRAM at the national metrology institute of Japan (NMIJ) in Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) and measured SEU cross sections and MCU cross sections to investigate the effect on neutrons with the energies below 10 MeV on soft errors. It was found that SEU cross sections change drastically around 6 MeV. The proportion of MCU to total events does not change very much over the wide range of neutron energy. We also analyzed the total soft error rate (SER) of SEU and MCU by folding the neutron energy-dependent cross section and the flux spectra of the terrestrial neutron at New York and Tokyo. The calculated result indicates that the SER originating from the low-energy neutrons below 10 MeV is mostly negligible in the terrestrial environment.