Patent ID: 6914447

Claim:
A method of testing for soft error or failure rates in one or more semiconductor devices, wherein test radiation from a test radiation source mimics radiation that the devices would actually encounter in device operation, the method comprising: exposing the one or more devices to the test radiation from the test radiation source, wherein the elements are arranged in series as a string or as an XY array; clocking data into the devices; reading out the data after the devices have been exposed to the test radiation; comparing the read out data to the clocked in data; and determining a soft error rate for the devices based upon the comparison, wherein one or more radioisotopes are substantially uniformly distributed within a matrix material of the test radiation source and act as emission sites to emit the test radiation, wherein the substantially uniform distribution of the radioisotopes allows the radiation to encounter the one or more semiconductor devices being tested at a variety of angles and with a variety of different energies similar to what would actually be encountered in device operation, and wherein the test radiation is highly active such that the devices experience an increased exposure to the test radiation as compared to the amount of the radiation that the devices would actually receive in device operation, such that the devices exhibit an enhanced soft error rate and testing time is thereby reduced.