Cosmic-Ray Neutrons on the Ground and in the Atmosphere

Abstract

AbstractNeutrons from collisions of cosmic rays with the nuclei of atoms in the atmosphere are an irremovable external radiation that causes single-event upsets in microelectronic devices. Predicting soft error rates requires knowledge of the flux and energy distribution of the cosmic-ray-induced neutrons. This article reviews cosmic-ray neutrons in the atmosphere and on the ground, the factors that determine their intensity, and recent calculations and state-of-the-art measurements of neutron spectra covering 12 decades of energy, from the thermal energy range up to 10 GeV.