Kenan Ünlü

Modeling Soft Errors at the Device and Logic Levels for Combinational Circuits

Radiation-induced soft errors in combinational logic is expected to become as important as directly induced errors on state elements. Consequently, it has become important to develop techniques to quickly and accurately predict soft-error rates (SERs) in combinational circuits. In this work, we present methodologies to model soft errors in both the device and logic levels. At the device level, a hierarchical methodology to model neutron-induced soft errors is proposed. This model is used to create a transient current library, which will be useful for circuit-level soft-error estimation. The library contains the transient current response to various different factors such as ion energies, operating voltage, substrate bias, angle, and location of impact. At the logic level, we propose a new approach to estimating the SER of logic circuits that attempts to capture electrical, logic, and latch window masking concurrently. The average error of the SER estimates using our approach, compared to the estimates obtained using circuit-level simulations, is 6.5 percent while providing an average speedup of 15,000. We have demonstrated the scalability of our approach using designs from the ISCAS-85 benchmarks.

PROMPT GAMMA ACTIVATION ANALYSIS WITH THE TEXAS COLD NEUTRON SOURCE

A Prompt Gamma Activation Analysis (PGAA) facility is being developed at The University of Texas at Austin (UT). The UT-PGAA facility will utilize a focused cold-neutron beam from the Texas Cold Neutron Source (TCNS). the TCNS consists of a cold source cryostat and a curved neutron guide. the use of a guided focused cold-neutron beam will provide a high capture reaction rate and low background. The UT-PGAA facility will be used in the nondestructive determination of B, Cd, Gd and S in biological and environmental samples.

The University of Texas Cold Neutron Source

Abstract A cold neutron source has been designed, constructed, and tested by the Nuclear Engineering Teaching Laboratory (NETL) at The University of Texas at Austin. The Texas Cold Neutron Source (TCNS) is located in one of the beam ports of the NETL 1-MW TRIGA Mark II research reactor. The main components of the TCNS are a cooled moderator, a heat pipe, a cryogenic refrigerator, and a neutron guide. 80 ml of mesitylene moderator are maintained at about 30 K in a chamber within the reactor graphite reflector by the heat pipe and cryogenic refrigerator. The heat pipe is a 3-m long aluminum tube that contains neon as the working fluid. The cold neutrons obtained from the moderator are transported by a curved 6-m long neutron guide. This neutron guide has a radius of curvature of 300 m, a 50 × 15 mm cross-section, 58 Ni coating, and is separated into three channels. The TCNS will provide a low-background subthermal neutron beam for neutron capture and scattering research. After the installation of the external portion of the neutron guide, a neutron focusing system and a Prompt Gamma Activation Analysis facility will be set up at the TCNS.

Neutron focusing system for the Texas Cold Neutron Source

Abstract A “converging neutron guide” focusing system located at the end of the Texas Cold Neutron Source (TCNS) “curved neutron guide” would increase the neutron flux for neutron capture experiments. Our design for a converging guide is based on using several rectangular truncated cone sections. Each rectangular truncated cone consists of four 20-cm long Si plates coated with NiC-Ti supermirrors. Dimensions of each section were determined by a three-dimensional Monte Carlo optimization calculation. The two slant angles of the truncated cones were varied to optimize the neutron flux at the focal area of the focusing system. Different multielement converging guides were designed and their performance analyzed. From the performance results and financial considerations, we selected a four-section 80-cm long converging guide focusing system for construction and use with the TCNS. The focused cold neutron beam will be used for neutron capture experiment, e.g., prompt gamma activation analysis and neutron depth profiling.

Helium-3 and boron-10 concentration and depth measurements in alloys and semiconductors using NDP

Abstract Neutron Depth Profiling (NDP) is a nondestructive near surface technique that is used to measure concentration versus absolute depth of several isotopes of light mass elements in various substrates. NDP is based on absorption reaction of thermal neutrons with the isotope of interest. Charged particles and recoil atoms are generated in the reaction. The depth profiles are determined by measuring the residual energy of the charged particles or the recoil atoms. The NDP technique has became an increasingly important method to measure depth profiles of 3 He and 10 B in alloys and semiconductor materials. A permanent NDP facility has been installed on the tangential beam port of the University of Texas (UT) TRIGA Mark-II research reactor. One of the standard applications of the UT-NDP facility involves the determination of boron profiles of borophosphosilicate glass (BPSG) samples. NDP is also being used in combination with electron microscopy measurements to determine radiation damage and microstructural changes in stainless steel samples. This is done to study the long-term effects of high-dose alpha irradiation for weapons grade plutonium encapsulation. Measurements of implanted boron-10 concentration and depth profiles of semiconductor materials in order to calibrate commercial implanters is another application at the UT-NDP facility. The concentration and depth profiles measured with NDP and SIMS are compared with reported data given by various vendors or different implanters in order to verify implant quality of semiconductor wafers. The results of the measurements and other possible applications of NDP are presented.

Developing and evaluating di(2-ethylhexyl) orthophosphoric acid (HDEHP) based polymer ligand film (PLF) for plutonium extraction

A method was developed to produce a thin Polymer Ligand Film (PLF) using di(2-ethylhexyl) orthophosphoric acid (HDEHP) ligand for rapid extraction of plutonium. Ligands were incorporated into a polystyrene matrix to generate a smooth and durable surface for analyte extraction. PLFs were prepared with varying amount of ligands to find the optimimum ratio between the ligands and polymer structure to give best plutonium recovery. Also, the plutonium extraction is dependent on the concentration of nitric solution. This dependency was examined in the manuscript. The PLF samples were counted directly using alpha spectroscopy without any further chemical process to test the plutonium recovery. The alpha spectroscopy data shows that HDEHP based PLFs were effective in extracting plutonium from nitric acid solution. The surface characterization was performed with a scanning electron microscope (SEM) and digital autoradiography for defect examination of the PLF and plutonium distribution study, respectively.

Performance and calibration of a neutron image intensifier tube based real-time radiography system

Image calibration is central to extending the capabilities of neutron radiography beyond mere visualization. However, the effects of scattered neutrons and variations in background image intensity adversely affect quantitative radiography. We describe the calibration of a real-time neutron radiography system that limits these effects and which is applicable to systems with variable digitizer gain and offset. A neutron image intensifier tube coupled to a vidicon camera with a capture rate of 30 frames/s was used. The system could account for 10 ml of water entering the field of view to within 2% and could measure the variation in thickness of a graphite wedge to within 2.3%. The spatial resolution was 450 /spl mu/m for a field of view of 410 cm/sup 2/. The image persistence half life was /spl sim/0.3 s and the system was functional for quantitative radiography with neutron fluxes above /spl sim/5*10/sup 5/n/cm/sup 2//s.

Performance of the University of Texas cold-neutron prompt gamma activation analysis facility

The University of Texas cold-neutron prompt gamma-activation analysis (PGAA) facility is operational at the 1-MW UT TRIGA research reactor. The UT-PGAA facility utilizes a guided cold neutron beam produced by the Texas Cold Neutron Source. The cold neutrons are transported to the PGAA chamber via a 6-m long curved neutron guide followed by an 80-cm long converging neutron guide. A program of testing, optimizing, and calibrating the UT-PGAA facility is currently underway. Preliminary results for the sensitivities and detection limits of boron, hydrogen, and silicon in semiconductor materials are given.

Application of cold-neutron prompt gamma activation analysis at the University of Texas reactor

Abstract A cold-neutron prompt gamma activation analysis (PGAA) system is operational at the University of Texas (UT) 1 MW TRIGA research reactor. A 6 m long curved neutron guide followed by an 80 cm long converging (focusing) neutron guide transports cold neutrons from the Texas Cold Neutron Source to the PGAA chamber. The UT-PGAA system will be used to determine hydrogen and boron in semiconductor materials, gadolinium in neutron capture therapy samples, and multielementals in environmental and industrial samples.

Neutron depth profiling at the University of Texas

A neutron depth profiling (NDP) facility has been developed at the University of Texas at Austin (UT) Nuclear Engineering Teaching Laboratory. The UT-NDP utilizes thermal neutrons from a tangential beam port of the 1-MW TRIGA Mark II research reactor. Aspects of the designs of the thermal neutron beam and target chamber for the UT-NDP facility are given in this paper. Also, a brief description of NDP and possible applications are included.