Diagnosis of Faults Induced by Radiation and Circuit-Level Design Mitigation Techniques: Experience from VCO and High-Speed Driver CMOS ICs Case Studies

Abstract

In this paper, we discuss the diagnosis of particle-induced failures in harsh environments such as space and high-energy physics. To address these effects, simulation-before-test and simulation-after-test can be the key points in choosing which radiation hardening by design (RHBD) techniques can be implemented to mitigate or prevent failures. Despite the fact that total ionising dose (TID) has slow but destructive effects overtime on silicon devices, single-event effect (SEE) impulsively disrupts the typical operation of a circuit with temporary or permanent effects. The recently released SpaceFibre protocol drives the current requirements for space applications, and the future upgrade of the LHC experiment scheduled by CERN will require a redesign of the electronic front-end to sustain a radiation level up to the 1 Grad TID level. The effects that these two environments have on two different architectures for high-radiation and high-frequency data transmission are reported, and the efficiency of the mitigation techniques implemented, based on simulations and measurement tests, in the commercial 65 nm technology, are exploited.

Study of Single Event Latch-Up Hardness for CMOS Devices with a Resistor in Front of DC-DC Converter

“…Therefore, CMOS devices are susceptible to Single Event Effect (SEE) [3][4][5][6]. In particular, Single Event Latch-up (SEL), a special SEE, can alter devices' currents and even cause devices to burn up in severe cases [7][8][9][10]. From a circuit-level hardness perspective, SEL is generated by the conduction of parasitic PNP and NPN transistors inside the devices, creating low resistance paths between the devices' power supplies and grounds with resulting devices' current rise when the devices are exposed to the space radiation [11][12][13][14].…”

Diagnosis in Analog Electronic Circuits, Electrical Power Systems and Smart Grids

“…In paper [7], the diagnosis of particle-induced failures in harsh environments, such as space and high-energy physics experiments, is discussed. To address these effects, simulation-before-test and simulation-after-test are used by the authors as key points in choosing which Radiation Hardening By Design (RHBD) techniques can be implemented to mitigate or prevent failures.…”