Determining the impact of alpha-particle-emitting contamination from the Fukushima Daiichi disaster on Japanese manufacturing sites

We briefly review nuclear reactor operation from the point of view of the major radioactive contaminants formed and consider how these were released and dispersed into the air, water, and soil around Fukushima. The risk of contamination from alpha-particle-emitting uranium and plutonium isotopes at semiconductor manufacturing sites in Japan is considered from theoretical aspects. We report the results of low background alpha-particle-emission measurements from wafers that were exposed to the air during and several weeks after the disaster, conclusively demonstrating that no detectable levels of alpha-emitting impurities from the Fukushima Daiichi disaster were found at either of the two manufacturing facilities.

[1]  J. F. Ziegler,et al.  Stopping and Range of Ions in Matter SRIM-2003 , 2003 .

[2]  R.C. Baumann,et al.  Radiation-induced soft errors in advanced semiconductor technologies , 2005, IEEE Transactions on Device and Materials Reliability.

[3]  P. Oldiges,et al.  Single-Event-Upset Critical Charge Measurements and Modeling of 65 nm Silicon-on-Insulator Latches and Memory Cells , 2006, IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science.

[4]  W.R. Boley.  Compendia of TID and Neutron Radiation Test Results of Selected COTS Parts , 2008, 2008 IEEE Radiation Effects Data Workshop.

[5]  F. Wrobel,et al.  Radioactive Nuclei Induced Soft Errors at Ground Level , 2009, IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science.

[6]  H. Bader,et al.  Reduction of particle contamination by controlled venting and pumping of vacuum loadlocks , 1990 .

[7]  M. Deutsch.  Introductory Nuclear Physics. David Halliday. NewYork: Wiley; London: Chapman & Hall, 1950. 558pp. $6.50 , 1951 .

[8]  Ping K. Wan.  ATMOSPHERIC DISPERSION ANALYSIS IN PREPARING PERMIT APPLICATIONS FOR THE NEW NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS IN THE UNITED STATES , 2007 .

[9]  J.A. Felix,et al.  Radiation Response and Variability of Advanced Commercial Foundry Technologies , 2006, IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science.

[10]  Jeffrey T. Draper,et al.  Critical Charge Characterization for Soft Error Rate Modeling in 90nm SRAM , 2007, 2007 IEEE International Symposium on Circuits and Systems.

[11]  R. Baumann.  Soft errors in advanced semiconductor devices-part I: the three radiation sources , 2001 .

[12]  J.A. Felix,et al.  Radiation Effects in MOS Oxides , 2008, IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science.

[13]  H.S. Kim,et al.  SEE and TID Characterization of an Advanced Commercial 2Gbit NAND Flash Nonvolatile Memory , 2006, IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science.

[14]  T. May,et al.  A New Physical Mechanism for Soft Errors in Dynamic Memories , 1978, 16th International Reliability Physics Symposium.

[15]  John Boyd.  Shutdown of fukushima reactors is ahead of schedule , 2011 .

[16]  J. Wilkinson,et al.  A cautionary tale of soft errors induced by SRAM packaging materials , 2005, IEEE Transactions on Device and Materials Reliability.

[17]  John M. Stockie,et al.  The Mathematics of Atmospheric Dispersion Modeling , 2011, SIAM Rev..

[18]  D. Bruno,et al.  Contamination Monitoring and Analysis in Semiconductor Manufacturing , 2010 .

[19]  M. Gordon,et al.  An Evaluation of An Ultralow Background Alpha-Particle Detector , 2009, IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science.

[20]  A. Schneider,et al.  Thyroid Cancer Following Exposure to Radioactive Iodine , 2000, Reviews in Endocrine and Metabolic Disorders.

[21]  peixiong zhao,et al.  Uranium and Thorium Contribution to Soft Error Rate in Advanced Technologies , 2011, IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science.

[22]  J. Jernström.  Development of analytical techniques for studies on dispersion of actinides in the environment and characterization of environmental radioactive particles , 2006 .

[23]  S. Landsberger,et al.  Measurement and detection of radiation , 1983 .