Influence of heavy ion flux on single event effect testing in memory devices

The natural space presents a particle flux variable environment and choosing a suitable flux value for ground-based single event experiments is an unresolved problem so far. In this work, various types of memory devices have been tested over the ion flux range from 10 to 105 ions/(cm2·s) using different ions covering LET from 10.1 to 99.8 MeV·cm2/mg. It was found that for most devices the error rates of single event upsets are affected by the applied flux value. And the effect involving flux becomes prominent as it is increased above 103 ions/(cm2·s). Different devices behave differently as the flux is increased and the flux effect depends strongly on the LET of the impinging ions. The results concluded in this experiment are discussed in detail and recommendations for choosing appropriate experimental flux are given.