200 and 300 MeV/nucleon nuclear reactions responsible for single-event effects in microelectronics

An experimental study of nuclear reactions between Si-28 nuclei at 200 and 300 MeV/nucleon and hydrogen or deuterium target nuclei was performed at the CELSIUS storage ring in Uppsala, Sweden, to collect information about the reactions responsible for single-event effects in microelectronics. Inclusive data on Si-28 fragmentation, as well as data on correlations between recoils and spectator protons or alpha particles are compared to predictions from the Dubna cascade model and the Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute version of the quantum molecular dynamics model. The comparison shows satisfactory agreement for inclusive data except for He fragments where low-energy sub-barrier fragments and recoiling fragments with very large momenta are produced much more frequently than predicted. The yield of exclusive data are also severely underestimated by the models whereas the charge distributions of recoils in these correlations compare well. The observed enhancement in He emission, which may well be important for the description of single-event effects, is most likely to be attributed to alpha clustering in Si-28 nuclei.