Determination of the deposited energy in a silicon volume by n-Si nuclear interaction

The aim of this work is to validate the results of the Monte Carlo recoil energy determination nuclear physics code used to determine the deposited energy in a silicon volume taking into account the probabilistic approach of the physical phenomenon. A silicon sensor has been used to measure the deposited energy spectrum after an irradiation with a neutron source. The experimental results were then compared with the one obtained by Monte Carlo simulations in the same silicon volume. Experiments and simulations are shown to be in good agreement in the field of interest for soft error rate evaluation that means for deposited energy range leading to memory point upsets in static random access memory. (c) 2006 American Institute of Physics.