IEC PAS 62396-2:2007

Process management for avionics - Atmospheric radiation effects - Part 2: Guidelines for single event effects testing for avionics systems

Provides guidance related to the testing of microelectronic devices for purposes of measuring their susceptibility to single event effects (SEE) induced by the atmospheric neutrons. Also shows how the test data can be used to estimate the SEE rate of devices and boards due to the atmospheric neutrons in the atmosphere at aircraft altitudes.

General Information

• Status: Replaced
• Publication Date: 17-Sep-2007
• ICS: 03.100.50 - Production. Production management
• ICS: 31.020 - Electronic components in general
• ICS: 49.060 - Aerospace electric equipment and systems
• Technical Committee: TC 107 - Process management for avionics
• Current Stage: DELPUB - Deleted Publication
• Completion Date: 19-Aug-2008

Relations

• Replaced By: IEC TS 62396-2:2008 - Process management for avionics - Atmospheric radiation effects - Part 2: Guidelines for single event effects testing for avionics systems
• Effective Date: 05-Sep-2023
• Revised: IEC 62396-2:2017 - Process management for avionics - Atmospheric radiation effects - Part 2: Guidelines for single event effects testing for avionics systems
• Effective Date: 05-Sep-2023

Standards Content (Sample)

IEC/PAS 62396-2
Edition 1.0 2007-09
PUBLICLY AVAILABLE
SPECIFICATION
PRE-STANDARD
Process management for avionics – Atmospheric radiation effects –
Part 2: Guidelines for single event effects testing for avionics systems

IEC/PAS 62396-2:2007(E)
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IEC/PAS 62396-2
Edition 1.0 2007-09
PUBLICLY AVAILABLE
SPECIFICATION
PRE-STANDARD
Process management for avionics – Atmospheric radiation effects –
Part 2: Guidelines for single event effects testing for avionics systems

INTERNATIONAL
ELECTROTECHNICAL
COMMISSION
PRICE CODE
T
ICS 03.100.50; 31.020; 49.060 ISBN 2-8318-9202-3

– 2 – PAS 62396-2 © IEC:2007(E)

CONTENTS
FOREWORD.3

1 General .5

1.1 Use of existing SEE data.5

1.2 Deciding to perform dedicated SEE tests.6

2 Availability of existing SEE data for avionics applications .6
2.1 Types of existing SEE data that may be used.6
2.1.1 Sources of data, proprietary versus published data .7
2.1.2 Data based on the use of different sources.8
2.1.3 Ground level versus avionics applications .11
2.2 Sources of existing data .12
3 Considerations for SEE Testing .13
3.1 Selection of hardware to be tested .14
3.2 Selection of test method.14
3.3 Selection of facility providing energetic particles .15
3.3.1 Spallation neutron source .15
3.3.2 Monoenergetic and quasi-monoenergetic beam sources.16
3.3.3 Thermal neutron sources .17
4 Converting test results to avionics SEE rates .17
4.1 Use of spallation neutron source .17
4.2 Use of SEU cross section curve over energy .18

Bibliography.21

Figure 1 – Comparison of Los Alamos and TRIUMF neutron spectra with terrestrial
neutron spectrum.9
Figure 2 – Variation of high energy neutron SEU cross section per bit as a function of
device feature size.10
Figure 3 — Comparison of mono-energetic SEU cross sections with Weibull and
Piece-Wise Linear Fits .20

Table 1 – Sources of existing data .13

PAS 62396-2 © IEC:2007(E) – 3 –

INTERNATIONAL ELECTROTECHNICAL COMMISSION

____________
PROCESS MANAGEMENT FOR AVIONICS –

ATMOSPHERIC RADIATION EFFECTS –

Part 2: Guidelines for single event effects testing

for avionics systems
FOREWORD
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A PAS is a technical specification not fulfilling the requirements for a standard but made

available to the public.
IEC-PAS 62396-2 has been processed by IEC technical committee 107: Process management
for avionics.
The text of this PAS is based on the This PAS was approved for publication
following document: by the P-members of the committee
concerned as indicated in the following
document:
Draft PAS Report on voting
107/57/NP 107/69/RVN
Following publication of this PAS, which is a pre-standard publication, the technical committee
or subcommittee concerned will transform it into an International Standard.

– 4 – PAS 62396-2 © IEC:2007(E)

This PAS shall remain valid for an initial maximum period of three years starting from 2007-09.

The validity may be extended for a single three-year period, following which it shall be revised

to become another type of normative document or shall be withdrawn.

IEC/PAS 62396 consists of the following parts, under the general title Process management

for avionics – Atmospheric radiation effects:

• Part 2: Guidelines for single event effects testing for avionics systems

• Part 3: Optimising system design to accommodate the Single Event Effects (SEE) of

atmospheric radiation
• Part 4: Guidelines for designing with high voltage aircraft electronics and potential
single event effects
• Part 5: Guidelines for assessing thermal neutron fluxes and effects in avionics
systems
PAS 62396-2 © IEC:2007(E) – 5 –

PROCESS MANAGEMENT FOR AVIONICS –

ATMOSPHERIC RADIATION EFFECTS –

Part 2: Guidelines for single event effects testing

for avionics systems
1 General
The purpose of this PAS is to provide guidance related to the testing of microelectronic

devices for purposes of measuring their susceptibility to single event effects (SEE) induced by
the atmospheric neutrons. Since the testing can be performed in a number of different ways,
using different kinds of radiation sources, it also shows how the test data can be used to
estimate the SEE rate of devices and boards due to the atmospheric neutrons in the
atmosphere at aircraft altitudes.
The type of SEE data available can be viewed from many different perspectives. As indicated,
the SEE testing can be performed using a variety of radiation sources, all of which can induce
single event effects in ICs. In addition, many tests are performed on individual devices, but
some tests expose an entire single board computer to radiation fields that can induce SEE
effects. However, a key discriminator is deciding on whether existing SEE data is available
that may be used, or whether there really is no existing data and therefore, a SEE test on the
device or board of interest has to be carried out.
1.1 Use of existing SEE data
The simplest solution is to find previous SEE data on a specific IC device. This is not nearly
as simple as it appears. First, the largest interest lies in SEE data that is directly usable for
purposes of estimating the SEE rate in avionics. Thus, SEE tests that have been carried out
on devices using heavy ions, data which is directly applicable for space missions, is data that
is not directly applicable for avionics purposes. This heavy ion SEE data can be used to
calculate SEE data from high energy neutrons and protons by utilizing a number of different
calculation methods, but this requires the active involvement of a radiation effects expert in
the process. Therefore, heavy ion SEE data should not be used for application to the
atmospheric neutron environment, except by scientists and engineers who have extensive
experience in using this kind of data. For that reason, unless otherwise stated explicitly, when
SEE data is discussed in the remainder of this PAS, it refers only to single event testing using
a neutron or proton source, not to the results from testing with heavy ions.
If SEE data on a device of interest is found from SEE tests using high energy neutrons or
protons, it will still require expertise regarding how the data is to be utilized in order to
calculate a SEE rate at aircraft altitudes. Data obtained by IC vendors for their standard
application to ground level systems are often expressed in totally different units, FIT units,
where one FIT is one error in 10 device hours, which is taken to apply at ground level.
IC devices are constantly changing. In some cases, devices which had been tested, become
obsolete and are replaced by new devices which have not been tested. The fact that a device
is made by the same IC vendor and is of the same type as the one it replaced does not mean
that the SEE data measured in the first device applies directly to the newer device. In some
cases, small changes in the IC design or manufacturing process can have a large effect in
altering the SEE response, but in other cases, the effect on the SEE response may be
minimal.
A continuing problem with the existing SEE data is that there is no single data base
containing all of the neutron or proton SEE data. Instead, portions of this kind of SEE data
can
...