Georgian Electronic Scientific Journal: Physics 2009|No.1(1) 117 Impact of Heavy Ions Singular Effects on Electronic Components Embarked in a Spatial Environment Dj. Sadaoui, N. Merabtine, A.Benslama, M. Benslama Electromagnetism and Telecommunication Laboratory, Electronics Department, Faculty of Engineering, Mentouri University, Constantine, Algeria, na_merabtine@hotmail.com Abstract: The electronics devices functioning in hostile surroundings can undergo, besides failing owed to the normal ageing of components deteriorations provoked by the environment in which they are used. The interaction of particles met in irradiative environment with the constituent materials of a integrated circuit can mislead failing disrupting the functionality of this one, or even driving to its destruction. The survey of radiation effects on the integrated circuits and in particular the effect of latchup has therefore for stake the electronic system reliability submitted to an irradiation. The objective of this work will be focalised on the survey of the induced latchup phenomenon in the embarked components. Keywords: ionizing radiations, heavy ions, singular events, SEL (Single Event Latchup), Integrated circuits. I. INTRODUCTION Systems embarked in the space, electronics close to nuclear explosions or bundles in accelerators of particles, robots of intervention in the nuclear power stations and in nuclear garbage processing plants are submitted to radiations. Radiance interacts with materials constituting the electronic components, provoking defects whose nature depends on the particle type present in their environment. Radiations effects on the electronic components can be diffuse, the most often owed to the integrated dose created by the light particles (protons, electrons) either localized, due to singular effects produced by the heavy particles of strong energy. In its whole this survey aims, for a given system and environment, to determine the possible failing mechanisms, to value their probability and, so necessary, to propose solutions permitting to guarantee a certain level of reliability of the system in question. The integrated circuit test is an essential phase to each of these stages. II. THE SPATIAL RADIATIING ENVIRONMENT In a radiating middle the behavior of an electronic component depends notably on the nature and the flux of the incidental radiance. The spatial domain is certainly most complex and most coercive concerning integrated circuit reliability. The large variety of particles and the almost inaccessibility of systems during their mission contributes to make of the specification a crucial stage. The complexity of the spatial environment occurs because it includes four components that interact between themselves and with the earth magnetosphere [1]. Belts of radiations: They are constituted of light loaded particles trapped in the terrestrial magnetosphere. One essentially distinguishes an internal belt and an external belt of protons and electrons. Their energy is between a few score of KeV and several hundreds of MeV, with fluxes localized in the belt reaching 109/protons/m 2 /s. Among particles trapped in the magnetosphere the weakly ionized heavy ions have been also discovered.