USE OF PUBE SOURCE TO SIMULATE NEUTRON-INDUCED SINGLE EVENT UPSETS IN STATIC RAMS

Neutron-induced single-event upsets were measured in static memory devices using a 10-curie PuBe source. The PuBe source conservatively overestimates the spectrum of fast neutrons emitted by a radioisotope thermoelectric generator (RTG). For the 93L422, the neutron-induced upset rate compared favorably with calculated values derived using the burst-generation concept. By accounting for the production of the ionizing particles by the PuBe and RTG neutron spectra, convenient upper-bound single-event-upset rates for memory devices near an RTG can be derived.