Comparison of single-event transients induced in an operational amplifier (LM124) by pulsed laser light and a broad beam of heavy ions

Abstract

A comparison of single-event transients (SETs) from heavy-ion and pulsed-laser irradiation of the LM124 operational amplifier shows good agreement for different voltage configurations. The agreement is illustrated by comparing both individual transient shapes and plots of transient amplitude versus width.

Modification of the LM124 Single Event Transients by Load Resistors

“…3 is called Q12 at the datasheet by National Semiconductors [12]. The actual structure has been determined by several authors [7], [8], [10], [19], [20], although there are minor changes among the schematics provided by the different works. In particular, Fig.…”

“…Those transients induced on the base of QR1 are usually short spikes that lead the output voltage up to the positive saturation voltage [8], [9]. They are followed by a swift decrease down to 0 V, sometimes followed by a negative transient, smaller but longer.…”

“…The internal topology of the LM124 (Fig. 4) has been depicted in several papers [7], [8], [10], [19], [20] although scarce information is provided about the characteristic of the internal transistors. In fact, the typical procedure is separating the individual transistors by means of laser or ion beams and extract the SPICE parameters using a microprobe and specific instrumentation [18].…”

Practicality of evaluating soft errors in commercial sub-90 nm CMOS for space applications

“…While there have been several direct comparisons of pulsed laser data to heavy ion data, cf. [54][55][56], the pulsed laser technique's speed, spatial correlation, and ease of energy adjustment are the most valuable features. However, as technologies scale, the once relatively small laser spot size of 1-2 µm is now large compared to single transistors meaning that it is impossible to probe single devices in 65 and 45 nm process technologies with current pulsed laser techniques.…”

SPICE Simulations of Single Event Transients in Bipolar Analog Integrated Circuits Using Public Information and Free Open Source Tools

“…The LM124 is a 40-years-old device and the layouts have diverged depending on the manufacturer. Slightly different versions can be found in the literature, with additional PNPs in the input differential pair (e. g., in commoncollector configuration [7]- [10], [37], [38] or with shorted base and collector [34], [39], [40]). We decided to add two additional transistors, Q18B and Q20B, with shorted base and collector, to simulate a newer LM124A version.…”