ABSTRACT
Predicting the rate of occurrence of single event effects (SEEs) in space requires knowledge of the radiation environment and the response of electronic devices to that environment. The model for the galactic cosmic ray (GCR) spectrum used in CREME86 [8] was the result of fitting the data available by the early 1980s. GCRs include all the nuclei of all the elements in nature. Their abundances are roughly the same as the general abundance of elements in the solar system. In addition to the radiation coming from outside, energetic charged particles trapped in the Earth’s radiation belt are capable of producing SEEs. CREME96 also uses the “straight-ahead” approximation. Unlike CREME86, it keeps track of charged nuclear fragments coming from the projectile nuclei. Protons and neutrons can cause SEEs indirectly by initiating nuclear interactions in or near the sensitive volume. In very soft devices or ones with large sensitive volumes, protons can also cause SEEs by direct ionization.
