Radiation Hardening by Design of Asynchronous Logic for Hostile Environments

Abstract

Abstract-A wide range of emerging applications is driving the development of wireless sensor node technology towards a monolithic system-on-a-chip implementation. Of particular interest are hostile environment scenarios where radiation and thermal extremes exist. Radiation hardening by design has been recognized for over a decade as an alternative open-source circuit design approach to mitigate a spectrum of radiation effects, but has significant power and area penalties. Similarly, asynchronous logic design offers potential power savings and performance improvements, with a tradeoff in design complexity and a lesser area penalty. These side effects have prevented wider acceptance of both design approaches. A case study supporting the development of monolithic system-on-a-chip wireless sensor nodes is presented. Synchronous, hardened, and asynchronous/hardened implementations of a textbook microprocessor in 0.35 m austriamicrosystems SiGe BiCMOS technology are compared. The synergy of this novel asynchronous/hardened design approach is confirmed by simulation and hardware results.Index Terms-Asynchronous logic, environmental tolerance, radiation hardening by design, system-on-a-chip.

Radiation-hardened library cell template and its total ionizing dose (TID) delay characterization in 65nm CMOS process

“…For completeness, at the device-and layout-levels, there are other feasible RHBD techniques such as the adoption of high-K process [2], annular layout [2], [3], enclosed layout [2], and beta gain control of the parasitic bipolar transistors [2]. Although these RBHD techniques are advantageous to mitigate TID and SEL effects, they are not allowed to be implemented due to the limitations of the chosen 65nm CMOS process.…”

“…This is because ICs embodied in electronics systems for said applications are subjected to various possible irradiations [1]− [3] which potentially jeopardize the functionality of ICs and at worst, permanent and irreparable damage to the ICs. To enhance robustness, ICs can be realized to be radiation-hardened by means of dedicated IC fabrication processes [4], design techniques [1]- [3] or a combination thereof. The dedicated IC fabrication processes employed for S&S applications are exotic in the sense that these processes are not readily available and whose cost are typically highly prohibitive.…”

“…Conversely, the design techniques for radiation-hardening, also known as RadiationHardened-By-Design (RHBD), are increasingly popular because RHBD techniques [1]- [3] can be incorporated into current state-of-the-art commercially-available CMOS fabrication processes. Consequently, the most aggressively scaled CMOS technology, with RHBD techniques adopted, could greatly benefit S&S applications, both substantially increased functionality, reduced power and cost.…”

SERAD: Soft Error Resilient Asynchronous Design Using a Bundled Data Protocol

“…To circumvent the effects of these types of radiation, numerous Radiation Hardened by Design (RHBD) techniques have been proposed in the literature, the most common being the Triple Modular Redundancy (TMR) [7], Guarded Dual Modular Redundancy (GDMR) [8], gate sizing [9]- [12], and Glitch Filtering (GF) [13]- [15]. RHBD cell libraries have also been developed for both asynchronous and synchronous designs [16], [17]. One study demonstrated the benefits of using asynchronous bundled-data latch-based design techniques to reduce the area, delay, and power penalty associated with a RHBD cell library [17].…”

“…RHBD cell libraries have also been developed for both asynchronous and synchronous designs [16], [17]. One study demonstrated the benefits of using asynchronous bundled-data latch-based design techniques to reduce the area, delay, and power penalty associated with a RHBD cell library [17]. However, radiation-hardened libraries are cumbersome to design, typically generations behind stateof-the-art unhardened versions, and relatively expensive in terms to cell area, power consumption, and cell delay.…”