Irradiation test facilities for COTS EEE components

With the growing consideration of COTS EEE components for space applications, SEE radiation testing will be a challenge. Due to the dense, complex circuits in Flip-Chip, hybrids or plastic packages with Cu bond wires, the opening of such packages is either impossible or difficult, with the risk to modify the device response. This limits the possibility to perform traditional SEE testing with standard heavy ions (<10MeV). Alternative SEE testing strategies have to be used employing high energy protons or more energetic heavy-ion beams with a proper compromise between LET and range. The presentation will provide an overview of the use and availability of the testing facilities in Europe offering high energy protons (200 MeV) and heavy-ion beams: ranging from the high energy Heavy Ions (HE) to the Very-High Energy, (VHE) and Ultra-High Energy (UHE).