1996/01/01 by J. F. Ziegler · 550 citations
Engineering · Medicine · Physics and Astronomy · #Astrophysics #Attenuation #Computational physics #Cosmic ray #Cosmic ray spallation #Electromagnetic shielding #Electron #Flux (metallurgy) #Gamma ray #Muon #Neutron #Neutron flux #Neutron monitor #Nuclear physics #Optics #Particle Detector Development and Performance #Physics #Pion #Radiation Effects in Electronics #Radiation Therapy and Dosimetry #Sidereal time #Ultra-high-energy cosmic ray #Van Allen radiation belt
paper · doi:10.1147/rd.401.0019
published in IBM Journal of Research and Development 40(1), 19-39 (IBM)
crossref issued 1996/01/01 · crossref published 1996/01/01 · crossref published-print 1996/01/01 · openalex publication_date 1996/01/01 · crossref created 2010/04/05 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · crossref deposited 2025/10/23 · openalex updated_date 2026/05/08 · crossref indexed 2026/08/01
This paper reviews the basic physics of those cosmic rays which can affect terrestrial electronics. Cosmic rays at sea level consist mostly of neutrons, protons, pions, muons, electrons, and photons. The particles which cause significant soft fails in electronics are those particles with the strong interaction: neutrons, protons, and pions. At sea level, about 95% of these particles are neutrons. The quantitative flux of neutrons can be estimated to within 3×, and the relative variation in neutron flux with latitude, altitude, diurnal time, earth's sidereal position, and solar cycle is known with even higher accuracy. The possibility of two particles of a cascade interacting with a single circuit to cause two simultaneous errors is discussed. The terrestrial flux of nucleons can be attenuated by shielding, making a significant reduction in the electronic system soft-error rate. Estimates of such attenuation are made.