Testing at the Speed of Light: The State of U.S. Electronic Parts Space Radiation Testing Infrastructure (2018)

Chapter: Appendix B: Single-Event Effects Testing Facilities in the United States

Previous Chapter: Appendix A: Statement of Task
Suggested Citation: "Appendix B: Single-Event Effects Testing Facilities in the United States." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2018. Testing at the Speed of Light: The State of U.S. Electronic Parts Space Radiation Testing Infrastructure. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/24993.

B

Single-Event Effects Testing Facilities in the United States

TABLE B.1 Primary Locations for Single-Event Effects (SEEs) Testing in the United States and Canada

Name of Facility Location (City, State) Energy (MeV/AMU) Primary Goal(s) of Facility Test in Good for Not Good for Cost Per Hour Number of Available Hours in a Year
Heavy Ions
Texas A&M University Cyclotron Institute (TAMU) College Station, Texas 10, 25, 40 Nuclear physics, radiation effects Air Most devices Assemblies-stacked devices $800–$1,200 3,500
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory 88” Cyclotron (LBNL) Berkeley, California 4.5, 10, 16, 30 Nuclear physics, radiation effects Vacuum — limited air Standard device packages and test structures Highly packaged devices or extreme angle tests ~$2,300 2,000–2,500
Michigan University National Superconducting Cyclotron Lab (NSCL) East Lansing, Michigan 70–140 up to 170 Nuclear physics, radiation effects Air Most devices and some assemblies Stacked devices—similar thicknesses $5,000 $4,000 0
Brookhaven National Laboratory, Tandem Van de Graaff, Single-Event Upset Test Facility (SEUTF) Upton, New York <2 MeV for high Z up to 8 Mev for low Z Nuclear physics, radiation effects Vacuum only Lower LET work or test structures Power devices and complex integrated circuits $1,250 $1,500 <100
Suggested Citation: "Appendix B: Single-Event Effects Testing Facilities in the United States." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2018. Testing at the Speed of Light: The State of U.S. Electronic Parts Space Radiation Testing Infrastructure. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/24993.
Name of Facility Location (City, State) Energy (MeV/AMU) Primary Goal(s) of Facility Test in Good for Not Good for Cost Per Hour Number of Available Hours in a Year
Brookhaven National Laboratory, NASA Space Radiation Laboratory (NSRL) Upton, New York 50–1500 NASA biology and shielding research Air All packaged devices, assemblies and extreme angle tests Some dynamic operations—due to pulsed beam $6,000 500, up to 1,500
Medium-Energy Protons
Brookhaven National Laboratory, Tandem Van de Graaff, Single-Event Upset Test Facility (SEUTF) Upton, New York <29 Nuclear physics, radiation effects Vacuum only Low-energy proton SEU studies Ineffective for revealing destructive SEE susceptibility $1,250 <100
Crocker Nuclear Laboratory, UC-Davis (CNL) Davis, California 1–70 Nuclear physics, radiation effects Air Displacement damage studies and determining low-medium energy proton SEU susceptibility Ineffective for revealing destructive SEE susceptibility $1,500 700
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory 88” Cyclotron (LBNL) Berkeley, California 1–55 Nuclear physics, radiation effects Air Displacement damage studies and determining low-medium energy proton SEU susceptibility Ineffective for revealing destructive SEE susceptibility $1,600–$1,775 2,000–2,500
Texas A&M University Cyclotron Institute (TAMU) College Station, Texas 10, 25, 40, 50 Nuclear physics, radiation effects Air Displacement damage studies and determining low-medium energy proton SEU susceptibility Ineffective for revealing destructive SEE susceptibility $800–$1,200 3,000+
Brookhaven National Laboratory, NASA Space Radiation Laboratory (NSRL) Upton, New York 50–2,500 NASA biology and shielding research Air All packaged devices, assemblies and extreme angle tests Some dynamic operations—due to pulsed beam $6,000 500, up to 1,500
Suggested Citation: "Appendix B: Single-Event Effects Testing Facilities in the United States." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2018. Testing at the Speed of Light: The State of U.S. Electronic Parts Space Radiation Testing Infrastructure. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/24993.
Name of Facility Location (City, State) Energy (MeV/AMU) Primary Goal(s) of Facility Test in Good for Not Good for Cost Per Hour Number of Available Hours in a Year
High-Energy Protons
NASA Space Radiation Laboratory (NSRL) Upton, New York 50–2,500 NASA biology and shielding research Air Not used for proton testing of electronics Not used for proton testing of electronics $6,000 500, up to 1,500
Loma Linda Cancer Treatment Center Loma Linda, California 230 Medical therapy, radiation effects Air Suitable for determining proton susceptibilities in most electronics Not effective for revealing destructive SEE susceptibilities Data not available Data not available
Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Boston, Massachusetts 230 Medical therapy, radiation effects Air Suitable for determining proton susceptibilities in most electronics Not effective for revealing destructive SEE susceptibilities $750 600–800
Northwestern Medicine Chicago Proton Center Warrenville, Illinois 230 Medical therapy, radiation effects Air Suitable for determining proton susceptibilities in most electronics Not effective for revealing destructive SEE susceptibilities $1,000 600–800
TRIUMF Vancouver, Canada 70–500 Nuclear physics, medical therapy, radiation effects Air Suitable for determining proton susceptibilities in most electronics Not effective for revealing destructive SEE susceptibilities Data not available 500–1,000

NOTE: This table lists the facilities in the United States (and the TRIUMF facility in Canada) that are the primary locations for single-event effects (SEEs) testing. There are other facilities not listed here that are used for other types of radiation testing of electronics. LET, linear energy transfer; SEU, single-event upset.

SOURCE: Chuck Foster, “Radiation Effects Heavy Ion Research/Test Facilities in 2050,” briefing to the committee; J. George, “Update on the U.S. Space Radiation Test Infrastructure for Single-Event Effects,” briefing to the committee; Ken LaBel, “External Test Facilities for Testing of Electronics: NASA Overview with Emphasis on Single-Event Effects,” briefing to the committee.

Suggested Citation: "Appendix B: Single-Event Effects Testing Facilities in the United States." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2018. Testing at the Speed of Light: The State of U.S. Electronic Parts Space Radiation Testing Infrastructure. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/24993.
Page 62
Suggested Citation: "Appendix B: Single-Event Effects Testing Facilities in the United States." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2018. Testing at the Speed of Light: The State of U.S. Electronic Parts Space Radiation Testing Infrastructure. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/24993.
Page 63
Suggested Citation: "Appendix B: Single-Event Effects Testing Facilities in the United States." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2018. Testing at the Speed of Light: The State of U.S. Electronic Parts Space Radiation Testing Infrastructure. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/24993.
Page 64
Next Chapter: Appendix C: Acronyms
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