Extensions of the burst generation rate method for wider application to proton/neutron-Induced single event effects

The Burst Generation Rate (BGR) method, originally developed to calculate s ingle event upset (SEU) rates in microelectronics due to neutrons and proto ns, has been extended for wider application, allowing cross sections for bo th SEU and single event latchup (SEL) to be calculated, and comparisons to be made with measured data. The method uses the Weibull fit to accurately r epresent the behavior of the heavy ion SEU cross section. Proton SEU cross sections in RAMs, microprocessors and FPGAs are calculated, with agreement generally to within a factor of 2-3, and similar results are obtained for n eutron cross sections for both cosmic ray and fission spectra, The BGR meth od is also be modified to calculate cross sections for proton/neutron induc ed SEL. Agreement is generally good for SEL for most devices, but there are also limitations, since some very modern devices are shown to have unusual ly high susceptibility to SEL by protons/neutrons.