A Terrestrial SER Estimation Methodology Based on Simulation Coupled With One-Time Neutron Irradiation Testing

Abe, Shinichiro; Hashimoto, Masanori*; Liao, W.*; Kato, Takashi*; Asai, Hiroaki*; Shimbo, Kenichi*; Matsuyama, Hideya*; Sato, Tatsuhiko; Kobayashi, Kazutoshi*; Watanabe, Yukinobu*

IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science, 70(8, Part 1), p.1652 - 1657, 2023/08

https://doi.org/10.1109/TNS.2023.3280190

Single event upsets (SEUs) caused by neutrons is a reliability problem for microelectronic devices in the terrestrial environment. Acceleration tests using white neutron beam provide realistic soft error rates (SERs), but only a few facilities can provide white neutron beam in the world. If single-source irradiation applicable to diverse neutron source can be utilized for the evaluation of the SER in the terrestrial environment, it contributes to solve the shortage of beam time. In this study, we investigated the feasibility of the SER estimation in the terrestrial environment by any one of these measured data with the SEU cross sections obtained by PHITS simulation. It was found that the SERs estimated by our proposed method are within a factor of 2.7 of that estimated by the Weibull function. We also investigated the effect of simplification which reduce the computational cost in simulation to the SER estimation.

Soft errors in semiconductor devices due to environmental radiation; Simulation of soft errors due to environmental radiations

Abe, Shinichiro

Nihon Genshiryoku Gakkai-Shi ATOMO, 65(5), p.326 - 330, 2023/05

https://doi.org/10.3327/jaesjb.65.5_326

Non-destructive faults (the so-called soft errors) in microelectronics caused by environmental radiation such as neutrons and muons have been recognized as a serious reliability problem. The number of microelectronics requiring high reliability increases with the growth of the information society. Therefore, it is not realistic to evaluate the soft error rate (SER) of all microelectronics by measurement. Moreover, the evaluation of SER in the pre-manufacturing stage is sometimes required. As a result, the evaluation of SER by simulation become more important. We have developed the soft error simulation method with PHITS code. We have also simulated the neutron- and muon-induced soft errors. These results will be reported in the journal of the Atomic Energy Society of Japan (AESJ) as the explanatory article.

Measurement of 107-MeV proton-induced double-differential thick target neutron yields for Fe, Pb, and Bi using a fixed-field alternating gradient accelerator at Kyoto University

Iwamoto, Hiroki; Nakano, Keita; Meigo, Shinichiro; Satoh, Daiki; Iwamoto, Yosuke; Sugihara, Kenta; Nishio, Katsuhisa; Ishi, Yoshihiro*; Uesugi, Tomonori*; Kuriyama, Yasutoshi*; et al.

Journal of Nuclear Science and Technology, 60(4), p.435 - 449, 2023/04

https://doi.org/10.1080/00223131.2022.2115423

Double-differential thick target neutron yields (TTNYs) for Fe, Pb, and Bi targets induced by 107-MeV protons were measured using the fixed-field alternating gradient accelerator at Kyoto University for research and development of accelerator-driven systems (ADSs) and fundamental ADS reactor physics research at the Kyoto University Critical Assembly (KUCA). Note that TTNYs were obtained with the time-of-flight method using a neutron detector system comprising eight neutron detectors; each detector has a small NE213 liquid organic scintillator and photomultiplier tube. The TTNYs obtained were compared with calculation results using Monte Carlo-based spallation models (i.e., INCL4.6/GEM, Bertini/GEM, JQMD/GEM, and JQMD/SMM/GEM) and the evaluated high-energy nuclear data library, i.e., JENDL-4.0/HE, implemented in the particle and heavy iontransport code system (PHITS). All models, including JENDL-4.0/HE, failed to predict high-energy peaks at a detector angle of 5. Comparing the energy- and angle-integrated spallation neutron yields at energies of 20 MeV estimated using the measured TTNYs and the PHITS indicated that INCL4.6/GEM would be suitable for the Monte Carlo transport simulation of ADS reactor physics experiments at the KUCA.

Measurement of 107-MeV proton-induced double-differential neutron yields for iron for research and development of accelerator-driven systems

Iwamoto, Hiroki; Nakano, Keita; Meigo, Shinichiro; Satoh, Daiki; Iwamoto, Yosuke; Ishi, Yoshihiro*; Uesugi, Tomonori*; Kuriyama, Yasutoshi*; Yashima, Hiroshi*; Nishio, Katsuhisa; et al.

JAEA-Conf 2022-001, p.129 - 133, 2022/11

https://doi.org/10.11484/jaea-conf-2022-001

For accurate prediction of neutronic characteristics for accelerator-driven systems (ADS) and a source term of spallation neutrons for reactor physics experiments for the ADS at Kyoto University Critical Assembly (KUCA), we have launched an experimental program to measure nuclear data on ADS using the Fixed Field Alternating Gradient (FFAG) accelerator at Kyoto University. As part of this program, the proton-induced double-differential thick-target neutron-yields (TTNYs) and cross-sections (DDXs) for iron have been measured with the time-of-flight (TOF) method. For each measurement, the target was installed in a vacuum chamber on the beamline and bombarded with 107-MeV proton beams accelerated from the FFAG accelerator. Neutrons produced from the targets were detected with stacked, small-sized neutron detectors composed of the NE213 liquid organic scintillators and photomultiplier tubes, which were connected to a multi-channel digitizer mounted with a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), for several angles from the incident beam direction. The TOF spectra were obtained from the detected signals and the FFAG kicker magnet's logic signals, where gamma-ray events were eliminated by pulse shape discrimination applying the gate integration method to the FPGA. Finally, the TTNYs and DDXs were obtained from the TOF spectra by relativistic kinematics.

Measurement of nuclide production cross sections for proton-induced reactions on Ni and Zr at 0.4, 1.3, 2.2, and 3.0 GeV

Takeshita, Hayato*; Meigo, Shinichiro; Matsuda, Hiroki*; Iwamoto, Hiroki; Nakano, Keita; Watanabe, Yukinobu*; Maekawa, Fujio

Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research B, 527, p.17 - 27, 2022/09

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nimb.2022.07.002

To improve accuracy of nuclear design of accelerator driven nuclear transmutation systems and so on, nuclide production cross sections on Ni and Zr were measured for GeV energy protons. The measured results were compared with PHITS calculations, JENDL/HE-2007 and so on.

Nuclide production cross section of Lu target irradiated with 0.4-, 1.3-, 2.2-, and 3.0-GeV protons

Takeshita, Hayato; Meigo, Shinichiro; Matsuda, Hiroki; Iwamoto, Hiroki; Nakano, Keita; Watanabe, Yukinobu*; Maekawa, Fujio

JAEA-Conf 2021-001, p.207 - 212, 2022/03

https://doi.org/10.11484/jaea-conf-2021-001

Prediction of nuclide production of spallation products by high-energy proton injection plays a fundamental and important role in shielding design of high-intensity proton accelerator facilities such as accelerator driven nuclear transmutation system (ADS). Since the prediction accuracy of the nuclear reaction models used in the production quantity prediction simulation is insufficient, it is necessary to improve the nuclear reaction models. We have measured nuclide production cross sections for various target materials with the aim of acquiring experimental data and improving nuclear reaction models. In this study, 1.3-, 2.2- and 3.0-GeV proton beams were irradiated to Lu target, and nuclide production cross-section data were acquired by the activation method. The measured data were compared with several nuclear reaction models used in Monte Carlo particle transport calculation codes to grasp the current prediction accuracy and to study how the nuclear reaction model could be improved.

Dynamical response of transition-edge sensor microcalorimeters to a pulsed charged-particle beam

Okumura, Takuma*; Azuma, Toshiyuki*; Bennet, D. A.*; Caradonna, P.*; Chiu, I.-H.*; Doriese, W. B.*; Durkin, M. S.*; Fowler, J. W.*; Gard, J. D.*; Hashimoto, Tadashi; et al.

IEEE Transactions on Applied Superconductivity, 31(5), p.2101704_1 - 2101704_4, 2021/08

https://doi.org/10.1109/TASC.2021.3067793

A superconducting transition-edge sensor (TES) microcalorimeter is an ideal X-ray detector for experiments at accelerator facilities because of good energy resolution and high efficiency. To study the performance of the TES detector with a high-intensity pulsed charged-particle beam, we measured X-ray spectra with a pulsed muon beam at the Japan Proton Accelerator Research Complex (J-PARC) in Japan. We found substantial temporal shifts of the X-ray energy correlated with the arrival time of the pulsed muon beam, which was reasonably explained by pulse pileup due to the incidence of energetic particles from the initial pulsed beam.

Deexcitation dynamics of muonic atoms revealed by high-precision spectroscopy of electronic X rays

Okumura, Takuma*; Azuma, Toshiyuki*; Bennet, D. A.*; Caradonna, P.*; Chiu, I. H.*; Doriese, W. B.*; Durkin, M. S.*; Fowler, J. W.*; Gard, J. D.*; Hashimoto, Tadashi; et al.

Physical Review Letters, 127(5), p.053001_1 - 053001_7, 2021/07

https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.127.053001

We observed electronic X rays emitted from muonic iron atoms using a superconducting transition-edge-type sensor microcalorimeter. The energy resolution of 5.2 eV in FWHM allowed us to observe the asymmetric broad profile of the electronic characteristic and X rays together with the hypersatellite X rays around 6 keV. This signature reflects the time-dependent screening of the nuclear charge by the negative muon and the -shell electrons, accompanied by electron side-feeding. Assisted by a simulation, this data clearly reveals the electronic - and -shell hole production and their temporal evolution during the muon cascade process.

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*

IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science, 68(6), p.1228 - 1234, 2021/06

https://doi.org/10.1109/TNS.2021.3077266

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.

Development and operation of an electrostatic time-of-flight detector for the Rare RI storage Ring

Nagae, Daisuke*; Abe, Yasushi*; Okada, Shunsuke*; Omika, Shuichiro*; Wakayama, Kiyoshi*; Hosoi, Shun*; Suzuki, Shinji*; Moriguchi, Tetsuro*; Amano, Masamichi*; Kamioka, Daiki*; et al.

Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research A, 986, p.164713_1 - 164713_7, 2021/01

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nima.2020.164713