Radiation Monitoring and Performance of Electronic Systems in High-Energy Accelerator Radiation Environments

Electronic systems distributed along high-energy particle accelerators need rigorous radiation hardness qualifications to ensure adequate availability of the beam. This work presents the radiation levels on a distributed system, featuring a commercial Cypress 90-nm memory, which is deployed around the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the largest accelerator within the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN). This investigated system is a part of the LHC magnet power converter system, with 752 units distributed under the LHC beamline and 256 units within shielded areas close to the accelerator tunnel. The radiation levels on the system were put in relation to the radiation qualifications and operational goals of the system. The embedded commercial memory has previously been tested for radiation effects and has a characterized upset cross section. The use of these distributed devices with known cross sections as an aid in radiation level monitoring is also discussed.