The key issues of cosmic-ray-induced softerror rates, SER (also referred to as singieevent upset, SEU, rates) in microeiectronic devices are discussed from the viewpoint of fundamental atomic and nuciear interactions between high-energy particles and semiconductors. From sea level to moderate altitudes, the cosmic ray spectrum is dominated by three particle species: nucleons (protons and neutrons), pions, and muons. The characteristic features of high-energy nuclear reactions of these particles with light elements are reviewed. A major cause of soft errors is identified to be the ionization electron-hole pairs induced by the secondary nuclear fragments produced in certain processes. These processes are the inelastic collisions between the cosmic ray particles and nuclei in the host material. A state-of-the-art nuclear spallation reaction model, NUSPA, is developed to simulate these reactions. This model is tested and validated by a large set of nuclear experiments. It is used to generate the crucial database for the soft-error simulators which are currently used throughout IBM for device and circuit analysis. The relative effectiveness ®Copyright 1996 by International Business Machines Corporation. Copying in printed form for private use is permitted without payment of royalty provided that (1) each reproduction is done without alteration and (2) the Journal reference and IBM copyright notice are included on the first page. The title and abstract, but no other portions, of this paper may be copied or distributed royalty free without further permission by computer-based and other information-service systems. Permission to republish any other portion of this paper must be obtained from the Editor.of nucleons, plons, and muons as soft-errorinducing agents is evaluated on the basis of nuclear reaction rate calculations and energydeposition analysis.