[en] A pulsed nanosecond IR laser diode system to automatically test the Single Event Effects in laboratory is described. The results of Single Event Latchup (SEL) test on two VLSI chips (VA_HDR64, 0.8 and 1.2 μm technology) are discussed and compared to those obtained with high-energy heavy ions at GSI (Darmstadt)

[en] The Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS01), a high-sensitivity particle spectrometer, was successfully flown for 10 d in June 1998 (STS91) in the orbit of the International Space Station (51.7 deg., ∼380 km). A high-statistics dataset of galactic cosmic rays were measured as a function of geomagnetic latitude, including the primary protons, leptons and helium as well as the trapped and quasi-trapped proton and lepton components. In this paper, the absorbed dose rate owing to the protons, leptons and helium are presented and compared with measurements made by other instruments flown on the same mission. (authors)

[en] There is particular interest to develop low-noise and wide dynamic range data acquisition systems for silicon detectors in view of using the same acquisition readout electronics for a wide range of application fields like monitoring and characterization of radiation sources or particle beams. In the framework of a research project for the qualification of Components Off The Shelf (COTS) for their use in space, research groups from INFN-Perugia, INFN-LNS and from MAPRAD have developed a fully automated, remote controllable, wide dynamic range acquisition system for silicon strip or pixelated detectors. Its design and a basic description of the performance are given here.