Single Event Rates for Devices Sensitive to Particle Energy

Single event rates (SER) can include contributions from low-energy particles such that the linear energy transfer (LET) is not constant. Previous work found that the environmental description that is most relevant to the low-energy contribution to the rate is a “stopping rate per unit volume” even when the physical mechanisms for a single-event effect do not require an ion to stop in some device region. Stopping rate tables are presented for four heavy-ion environments that are commonly used to assess device suitability for space applications. A conservative rate estimate utilizing limited test data is derived, and the example of SEGR rate in a power MOSFET is presented.