SCHEDULE
For Accelerated and System test, only certain labs can provide the adequate source of particles. Beam time is becoming a scarce good.With the growing demand in the industry fueld by the adoption of smaller geometries and a rising concern for Soft error, we estimate that by end of 2008, the supply of adequate beam time in the world will not fulfill the demand.And there is no evidence from the nuclear science industry that the supply will grow, the trend is even towards the decline of overall beam time availability due to ageing facilities reaching end of life and no compelling reason for the states to invest in new neutrons facilities.
These driving factors pushed iRoC to edge its position in two ways:
- qualify its technology on number of neutron beams worldwide
- create the "shuttle" program: up to 8 different devices are tested per test campaign, through stacking daughterboards and carefully monitoring the neutron flux for this configuration.
The "shuttle" program allows also flexibility for the user, by giving the possibility of rescheduling a test for the following campaign, in case of missed deadline. This had proven very valuable for the semiconductor industry, where schedule of tape out and silicon is sometimes delayed for number of reasons.
The links below show the schedule for 2008 and 2009 of the shuttle program campaigns. Other campaign are organized (for heavy ions and thermal neutrons), but they are for a unique project or customer, therefore not part of the "shuttle" program.Note that changes may occur in the schedule below.
Look at Shuttle schedule 2008
Look at Shuttle schedule 2009