Solar flare effect on microelectronic circuits assessed for Wigner's disease

Abstract

Heavy energetic charged (HZE) or neutral particles induce atomic and molecular changes in materials. Depending on the absorbed radiation dose, degradation and failure of the electronic components occur in electrical systems installed e.g., for space vehicle control or satellite communication. Galactic cosmic ray (GCR) increases abruptly during solar flares due to the emission of solar energetic particles (SEPs). These are event-related waves of energy ejected from the sun's surface. High energy photons and protons, alphas, neutrons, electrons, and muons among others are released in a time interval sequence of short bursts lasting a few minutes. Ionizing particles lose their energy in matter originating high charge density in a thick layer of material. Electron-hole pairs are produced in semiconductors. Most transistors are made from very pure silicon and have one or two kinds of charge carriers (e.g., field-effect transistors, and bipolar junction transistors). Existing a high-density ion, molecular structures are disrupted by Coulomb repulsion with the consequence of changing the transistor parameters; a phenomenon that alters the functionality of microelectronics circuitry ending in data corruption. We report consequences in microelectronic circuitry of the effect called Wigner disease. Atomic alteration due to solar flare neutron scattering induces dislocations per atom (dpa). For this purpose, the mathematical formalism as an approximate model of Kinchin and Pease is applied. The study is a contribution toward the Artemis NASA space program related to the Red Planet exploration.