First Tests of a New Facility for Device-Level, Board-Level and System-Level Neutron Irradiation of Microelectronics

The very limited availability of fast neutron facilities, particularly in Europe, for testing of microelectronics has motivated the construction of ChipIr, a new beamline at the ISIS neutron and muon source in the UK. ChipIr has been designed for Single Event Effect testing at the device-level, board-level and system-level which requires a beam of uniform intensity over a selectable area in the order of hundreds of cm ² . Measurements of the beam uniformity are presented in this paper. A memory chip of interest for space applications, based on SRAMs and developed by ESA for monitoring of radiation fields, has been used for a comparative characterization of the beam. Consistent results have been found, giving confidence on the intensity and shape of the fast neutron spectrum of ChipIr.