Cosmic Ray Effects on Microelectronics. Part 1. The Near-Earth Particle Environment

Abstract
It has recently been recognized that a single intensely ionizing particle can alter the information stored in a modern semiconductor memory and possibly do permanent damage to the microelectronic circuit involved. Such particles are common in nature and abundant in space. This report describes the natural particle environment in which modern space-borne electronics must operate, and provides a simple but accurate empirical model of that environment.