Kenneth LaBel, Keith Avery, Sandra Biedron, James DeFilippi, Daniel Marrujo, Jonathan Miller, Greg Van Dyk, Trusted Strategic Solutions, Roseville, California, USA,
Matthew Bedel, Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane Division, Crane, Indiana, USA,
Eric Everts, Richard Leonard, Anna Lowe, Jeremy Millspaugh, JRC Integrated Solutions, Washington, DC, USA,
Mike Stapleton, Scientific Research Corporation, Contractor support to the Test Resource Management Center (TRMC) Nuclear Modernization, Atlanta, Georgia, USA,
Thomas Turflinger, The Aerospace Corporation, Chantilly, Virginia, USA
While space has many challenges, the most unique challenge for microelectronics is the natural space radiation environment. In particular, exposure to energetic heavy ions from galactic cosmic rays (GCRs) and solar particle events (SPEs) is the prime risk to microelectronics in space. These particles deposit charge in microelectronics, potentially resulting in operational errors or even destructive failures [1].
To test such microelectronics for use in space, ground-based particle accelerators are used to perform [2] single event effects (SEE) testing. The difficulty is obtaining beamtime at the type of machine the microelectronics require for testing. In 2023 an article was published in the APS DPB newsletter that illustrated the sources of space ions and some of the testing challenges, including the increase in user hours needed, especially for high-energy (HE) heavy ion (HI) facilities [3].
With the advent of advanced multi-layer and heterogeneous microelectronics technologies, the requirements of the accelerators needed for testing are shifting. Higher-energy ions are now needed to penetrate into the sensitive locations within these devices. There is also an increased demand to perform system-level testing that requires a larger irradiation area, which also enables irradiation of large sample sizes for test efficiency. By 2030, the need for high-energy (> 100 MeV/n) heavy ions is estimated to be ~40% of all the SEE testing hours required [4].
The United States has four very productive heavy-ion accelerator facilities that have been made available to the microelectronics SEE test community: the NASA Space Radiation Laboratory (NSRL) at the Brookhaven National Laboratory [5], the Texas A&M University Cyclotron Institute [6], the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory cyclotron [7], and at Michigan State University’s Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB) [8]. Although there are four accelerators capable of producing ions, there is only one existing facility with the required high energy, which is NSRL. The issue is the limited availability at NSRL of ~1500 hours/year for microelectronics testing with high-energy heavy ions.
Since SEE is a real hazard for electronics used in space missions, this gap in high-energy heavy-ion SEE (HE HISEE) testing beam hours must be addressed. The defense community is facing evolving challenges as we continue to integrate increasingly advanced microelectronics components with features such as extremely high transistor density, advanced heterogeneous packaging, and AI/edge computing performance.
The Department of Defense (DoD) is therefore conducting market research regarding future HE HISEE domestic accelerator test facilities to support DoD requirements through 2040. The authors have been tasked to conduct an Analysis of Alternatives (AoA) to seek information from experienced organizations to evaluate present technologies and formulate achievable, cost-effective solutions. The AoA is a requirement of military acquisition policy for the United States, as controlled by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the U.S. DoD. The purpose of an AoA is to ensure that at least three feasible alternatives are analyzed prior to making investment decisions [9].
To collect information from colleagues in the greater U.S. community, several approaches were undertaken. First, visits were performed to the existing U.S. ion production accelerators already engaged in the community, and written input was requested regarding details such as machine performance, upgrade possibilities, and beam time allocation.
Second, the DoD issued a request for information (RFI) that had a closing date of 19 September 2025. This RFI is available on the U.S. Government website sam.gov [10]. It requested all aspects of facilities, including asking for input on research and development needed and workforce requirements.
Third, the DoD hosted a Market Research Day in parallel with the North American Particle Accelerator Conference 2025. The meeting was held at an offsite location as well as virtually, and all known U.S. entities with capabilities and workforce development for the HE HISEE future were contacted and offered an invitation to submit a response to the RFI.
Fourth, a poster was presented along with a paper during the recent North American Particle Accelerator Conference to discuss the DoD requirements with our colleagues. Information was also disseminated to all known entities for response to the RFI while at the conference.
These responses are now in the process of being compiled and analyzed to inform the AoA and the government.
The AoA team has sought input from the U.S. particle accelerator community, including those involved with workforce development for the DoD future high-energy heavy-ion single event effects (HE HISEE) domestic accelerator facilities to support DoD requirements through 2040. A request for such a facility is targeted for the 2028 Federal Budget. The community will be kept apprised of opportunities to provide further input to the DoD as well as to formulate proposals for possible future domestic accelerator facilities.
References
[1] See, for example, K. LaBel et al., “High Energy Heavy Ion Single Event Effects (HE HISEE): Planning for the future of microelectronics", in Proc. NAPAC2025, Sacramento, CA, USA, Aug. 2025, pp. 1030-1032, doi:10.18429/JACoW-NAPAC2025-THP041
[2] National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, “Testing at the Speed of Light: The State of U.S. Electronic Parts Space Radiation Testing Infrastructure,” Washington, DC: The National Academies Press (2018), https://doi.org/10.17226/24993
[3] Kevin Brown, Michael Sivertz, Sandra Biedron, Steve Wender, "Simulating Space Weather on Earth using Particle Accelerators,” 2023 Division of the Physics of Beams Newsletter, American Physical Society.
[4] J. Franco and J. Ross, “Strategic Radiation-Hardened (SRH) Electronics Council (SRHEC) Public Summary from Analysis of Alternatives (AoA) for Domestic Single-Event Effects (SEE) Test Facilities,” 2021, https://nepp.nasa.gov/workshops/dhesee2021/talks/6a_SEE%20AoA%20summary%20Nov%202020%20approved%20for%20release.pdf
[5] K. Brown et al., “The NASA Space Radiation Laboratory at Brookhaven National Laboratory: Preparation and delivery of ion beams for space radiation research”, Nucl. Instrum. Methods Phys. Res. A 618, 97–107 (2010), doi:10.1016/j.nima.2010.02.276, and https://www.bnl.gov/nsrl/
[6] Texas A&M University Cyclotron Institute: Radiation Effects facility, https://cyclotron.tamu.edu/ref/
[7] Berkeley Accelerator Space Effects (BASE) facility, https://cyclotron.lbl.gov/base-rad-effects
[8] Michigan State University Space Radiation effects facilities, https://msutoday.msu.edu/news/2023/msu-to-refurbish-worlds-first-superconducting-cyclotron-for-chip-testing, https://ece.msu.edu/news/new-space-electronics-center
[9] U.S. Office of Management and Budget, Circular No. A–11, Preparation, Submission, and Execution of the Budget, Washington, DC: Executive Office of the President, 2008.
[10] REQUEST FOR INFORMATION – High Energy Heavy Ion Single Event Effects Testing,
https://sam.gov/workspace/contract/opp/49a84ed5932a44dab029a6edd35fbb23/view