Using digital imagers to characterize the dependence of energy and area distributions of SEUs on elevation

Abstract

Camera Integrated circuits (ICs) suffer from soft errors known as Single Event Upsets (SEUs). Unlike traditional ICs, camera sensors record the location and energy deposited by each SEU. Camera pixels measure when and where cosmic ray particles hit and store the deposited charge when dark-frame images are taken. Hence, with large datasets of time-lapsed dark-frame images, pixel analysis provides the intensity and energy distribution of deposited SEU charges, the energy vs occurrence rate, the total area of the charge ball, and potentially the dependence of the number of SEUs on the camera elevation. Previously developed noise distribution analysis enables the removal of noise and the detection of low energy SEUs. In addition, it allows estimating the area of the deposited charge. We used two DSLR cameras and measured SEU rates at elevations from sea level to 1088 m, allowing us to explore the dependence of SEU energy and area distributions on elevation. We observed significant increases in SEUs with elevation changes of < 50 meters.