Development and Characterization of a High-Flux p-Be Neutron Source for In-Situ Neutron Radiation Effects Testing of Avionics
11th International Conference on Recent Advances in Air and Space Technologies, Conference Program, RAST 2026, İstanbul, Türkiye, 13 - 15 Mayıs 2026, (Tam Metin Bildiri)
- Yayın Türü: Bildiri / Tam Metin Bildiri
- Doi Numarası: 10.1109/rast69551.2026.11672451
- Basıldığı Şehir: İstanbul
- Basıldığı Ülke: Türkiye
- Anahtar Kelimeler: accelerators, beryllium, neutron radiation effects, neutron sources, proton accelerators
- Orta Doğu Teknik Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet
Özet
Single Event Effects (SEEs) caused by neutrons are significantly more prevalent than those caused by protons near the Pfotzer maximum. Inside the semiconductors of avionics, direct nuclear collisions of fast neutrons with silicon may induce inelastic scattering or spallation, leading to high LET from the recoiling silicon nucleus and other secondary such as alpha nuclei and protons. For thermal neutrons, the presence of boron, commonly used in interlayer dielectric BPSG and as a p-type dopant, poses a threat because boron has a high fission cross-section, releasing high-LET ionizing secondaries like lithium and alpha nuclei that may pass through a sensitive region such as a reverse-biased PN junction, causing the collected charge to exceed the critical charge Qcrit of memory cells. We describe the upgrade of METU-DBL (Middle East Technical University Defocusing Beam Line) to include neutron radiation testing at METU-NIDA (Neutron Irradiation and Distribution Area) for the assesment of neutron radiation hardening of avionics.