Geometric optimization for radiation hardness assurance

The probability of a single event effect occurring is generally a function of the energy deposited in a sensitive volume, which is typically expressed as the absorbed dose in that volume. For short segments of high energy particle tracks, the dose due to a single event is proportional to the chord length through the sensitive volume. Thus, the distribution of dose in chord length is likely to relate to the probability of single event effects. For various geometries, a differential chord length distribution was generated and from this the dose distribution, frequency mean chord length, and dose mean chord length were calculated. In every case, the dose mean chord length was greater than the frequency mean chord length by a minimum of 26% and increased with the eccentricity of the volume. The large value of the dose mean chord length relative to the frequency mean chord length demonstrates the need to consider rare, long-chord-length crossings in radiation hardness testing, despite their relatively low probability of occurrence.