Progress in Modeling Proton Reactions on Natural Silicon Targets

Abstract

We investigate proton-induced reactions on natural silicon, which are of importance to assess radiation damage in semiconductor electronic devices. Excitation functions for isotopes ²⁸Mg, ²⁶Al, ²⁴Na, ²²Na, ¹⁸F, ¹⁰Be, and ⁷Be were analyzed at beam energies of 20–150 MeV using EXFOR cross-section data and TALYS-2.0 predictions. Six level density models were tested, with two showing superior accuracy for heavy residue formation. Production of intermediate mass fragments ¹⁰Be and ⁷Be was negligible, consistent with TALYS limitations on fragment emission. Preliminary calculations with the ISABEL intranuclear cascade coupled with the MECO sequential binary decay code are presented, highlighting low-energy validity, limitations, and possible extensions for improved modeling.