We investigate, through measurements and simulations, the possible direct ionization impact in the accelerator soft error rate, not considered in standard qualification approaches. Results show that, for a broad variety of state-of-the art commercial components considered in the 65 nm to 16 nm technological range, indirect ionization is still expected to dominate the overall soft-error rate in the accelerator mixed-field. However, the derived critical charges of the most sensitive parts, corresponding to ∼0.7 fC, are expected to be at the limit of rapid direct ionization dominance and soft-error increase.