Single event effects evaluation on convolution neural network in Xilinx 28 nm system on chip

Convolutional neural networks(CNNs) exhibit excellent performance in the areas of image recognition and object detection, which can enhance the intelligence level of spacecraft. However, in aerospace, energetic particles, such as heavy ions, protons, and alpha particles, can induce single event effects(SEEs) that lead CNNs to malfunction and can significantly impact the reliability of a CNN system. In this paper, the MNIST CNN system was constructed based on a 28 nm systemon-chip(SoC), and then an alpha particle irradiation experiment and fault injection were applied to evaluate the SEE of the CNN system. Various types of soft errors in the CNN system have been detected, and the SEE cross sections have been calculated. Furthermore, the mechanisms behind some soft errors have been explained. This research will provide technical support for the design of radiation-resistant artificial intelligence chips.

Sensitivity investigation of 100-MeV proton irradiation to SiGe HBT single event effect

The single event effect(SEE) sensitivity of silicon–germanium heterojunction bipolar transistor(Si Ge HBT) irradiated by 100-Me V proton is investigated. The simulation results indicate that the most sensitive position of the Si Ge HBT device is the emitter center, where the protons pass through the larger collector-substrate(CS) junction. Furthermore, in this work the experimental studies are also carried out by using 100-Me V proton. In order to consider the influence of temperature on SEE, both simulation and experiment are conducted at a temperature of 93 K. At a cryogenic temperature, the carrier mobility increases, which leads to higher transient current peaks, but the duration of the current decreases significantly.Notably, at the same proton flux, there is only one single event transient(SET) that occurs at 93 K. Thus, the radiation hard ability of the device increases at cryogenic temperatures. The simulation results are found to be qualitatively consistent with the experimental results of 100-Me V protons. To further evaluate the tolerance of the device, the influence of proton on Si Ge HBT after gamma-ray(^(60)Coγ) irradiation is investigated. As a result, as the cumulative dose increases, the introduction of traps results in a significant reduction in both the peak value and duration of the transient currents.

Experimental and Analytical Study of a Single Effect Distillation Using Electrical Evaporator Powered by Solar Energy

The experimental and analytical investigation was conducted on a solar-powered single-effect distillation (SED). The evaporator was designed to be an electrical evaporator as opposed to the steam evaporator that existed previously. Using sun-tracking solar panels, the electrical evaporator in the designed distillation unit was powered by solar energy. Approximately 20 kWh was utilized by the small-scale distillation apparatus. This type of design is mobile, so remote areas and countries with fragile economies can utilize it on a small or large scale. Utilizing the principles of energy and mass conservation, the amount of distillate water and power required for a single unit was determined, at the low salinity (2200 PPM) with fixed boiling point temperature (Tb = 75˚C), the unit performance is approx. 98.4%. The experimental results and those derived from a mathematical model were compared, and both showed strong accord. Using engineering equation solver (EES) software, a computer program was developed for this research scenario.

Sensitivity study of the SiGe heterojunction bipolar transistor single event effect based on pulsed laser and technology computer-aided design simulation

The single event effect of a silicon–germanium heterojunction bipolar transistor(SiGe HBT) was thoroughly investigated. By considering the worst bias condition, the sensitive area of the proposed device was scanned with a pulsed laser.With variation of the collector bias and pulsed laser incident energy, the single event transient of the SiGe HBT was studied.Moreover, the single event transient produced by laser irradiation at a wavelength of 532 nm was more pronounced than at a wavelength of 1064 nm. Finally, the impact of the equivalent linear energy transfer of the 1064 nm pulsed laser on the single event transient was qualitatively examined by performing technology computer-aided design simulations, and a good consistency between the experimental data and the simulated outcomes was attained.

Effect of temperature on heavy ion-induced single event transient on 16-nm FinFET inverter chains

The variations of single event transient(SET)pulse width of high-LET heavy ion irradiation in 16-nm-thick bulk silicon fin field-effect transistor(Fin FET)inverter chains with different driven strengths are measured at different temperatures.Three-dimensional(3D)technology computer-aided design simulations are carried out to study the SET pulse width and saturation current varying with temperature.Experimental and simulation results indicate that the increase in temperature will enhance the parasitic bipolar effect of bulk Fin FET technology,resulting in the increase of SET pulse width.On the other hand,the increase of inverter driven strength will change the layout topology,which has a complex influence on the SET temperature effects of Fin FET inverter chains.The experimental and simulation results show that the device with the strongest driven strength has the least dependence on temperature.

Synergistic effect of total ionizing dose on single-event gate rupture in SiC power MOSFETs

The synergistic effect of total ionizing dose(TID) and single event gate rupture(SEGR) in SiC power metal–oxide–semiconductor field effect transistors(MOSFETs) is investigated via simulation. The device is found to be more sensitive to SEGR with TID increasing, especially at higher temperature. The microscopic mechanism is revealed to be the increased trapped charges induced by TID and subsequent enhancement of electric field intensity inside the oxide layer.

Single-event-transient effect in nanotube tunnel field-effect transistor with bias-induced electron–hole bilayer

The single event transient(SET)effect in nanotube tunneling field-effect transistor with bias-induced electron–hole bilayer(EHBNT-TFET)is investigated by 3-D TCAD simulation for the first time.The effects of linear energy transfer(LET),characteristic radius,strike angle,electrode bias and hit location on SET response are evaluated in detail.The simulation results show that the peak value of transient drain current is up to 0.08 m A for heavy ion irradiation with characteristic radius of 50 nm and LET of 10 Me V·cm^(2)/mg,which is much higher than the on-state current of EHBNTTFET.The SET response of EHBNT-TFET presents an obvious dependence on LET,strike angle,drain bias and hit location.As LET increases from 2 Me V·cm^(2)/mg to 10 Me V·cm^(2)/mg,the peak drain current increases monotonically from 0.015 mA to 0.08 mA.The strike angle has an greater impact on peak drain current especially for the smaller characteristic radius.The peak drain current and collected charge increase by 0.014 mA and 0.06 fC,respectively,as the drain bias increases from 0.1 V to 0.9 V.Whether from the horizontal or the vertical direction,the most sensitive hit location is related to wt.The underlying physical mechanism is explored and discussed.

Heavy-ion and pulsed-laser single event effects in 130-nm CMOS-based thin/thick gate oxide anti-fuse PROMs

Single event effects of 1-T structure programmable read-only memory(PROM) devices fabricated with a 130-nm complementary metal oxide semiconductorbased thin/thick gate oxide anti-fuse process were investigated using heavy ions and a picosecond pulsed laser. The cross sections of a single event upset(SEU) for radiationhardened PROMs were measured using a linear energy transfer(LET) ranging from 9.2 to 95.6 MeV cm^2mg^(-1).The result indicated that the LET threshold for a dynamic bit upset was ～ 9 MeV cm^2mg^(-1), which was lower than the threshold of ～ 20 MeV cm^2mg^(-1) for an address counter upset owing to the additional triple modular redundancy structure present in the latch. In addition, a slight hard error was observed in the anti-fuse structure when employing209 Bi ions with extremely high LET values(～ 91.6 MeV cm^2mg^(-1)) and large ion fluence(～ 1×10~8 ions cm^(-2)). To identify the detailed sensitive position of a SEU in PROMs, a pulsed laser with a 5-μm beam spot was used to scan the entire surface of the device.This revealed that the upset occurred in the peripheral circuits of the internal power source and I/O pairs rather than in the internal latches and buffers. This was subsequently confirmed by a ^(181)Ta experiment. Based on the experimental data and a rectangular parallelepiped model of the sensitive volume, the space error rates for the used PROMs were calculated using the CRèME-96 prediction tool. The results showed that this type of PROM was suitable for specific space applications, even in the geosynchronous orbit.

Synergistic effect of total ionizing dose on single event effect induced by pulsed laser microbeam on SiGe heterojunction bipolar transistor

The synergistic effect of total ionizing dose（TID） on single event effect（SEE） in SiGe heterojunction bipolar transistor（HBT） is investigated in a series of experiments. The SiGe HBTs after being exposed to 60 Co g irradiation are struck by pulsed laser to simulate SEE. The SEE transient currents and collected charges of the un-irradiated device are compared with those of the devices which are irradiated at high and low dose rate with various biases. The results show that the SEE damage to un-irradiated device is more serious than that to irradiated SiGe HBT at a low applied voltage of laser test. In addition, the g irradiations at forward and all-grounded bias have an obvious influence on SEE in the SiGe HBT, but the synergistic effect after cutting off the g irradiation is not significant. The influence of positive oxide-trap charges induced by TID on the distortion of electric field in SEE is the major factor of the synergistic effect. Moreover, the recombination of interface traps also plays a role in charge collection.

Three-dimensional simulation of fabrication process-dependent effects on single event effects of SiGe heterojunction bipolar transistor

The fabrication process dependent effects on single event effects （SEEs） are investigated in a commercial silicon- germanium heterojunction bipolar transistor （SiGe HBT） using three-dimensional （3D） TCAD simulations. The influences of device structure and doping concentration on SEEs are discussed via analysis of current transient and charge collection induced by ions strike. The results show that the SEEs representation of current transient is different from representation of the charge collection for the same process parameters. To be specific, the area of C/S junction is the key parameter that affects charge collection of SEE. Both current transient and charge collection are dependent on the doping of collector and substrate. The base doping slightly influences transient currents of base, emitter, and collector terminals. However, the SEEs of SiGe HBT are hardly affected by the doping of epitaxial base and the content of Ge.

Investigation of single event effect in 28-nm system-on-chip with multi patterns

Single event effects (SEEs) in a 28-nm system-on-chip (SoC) were assessed using heavy ion irradiations, and susceptibilities in different processor configurations with data accessing patterns were investigated. The patterns included the sole processor (SP) and asymmetric multiprocessing (AMP) patterns with static and dynamic data accessing. Single event upset (SEU) cross sections in static accessing can be more than twice as high as those of the dynamic accessing, and processor configuration pattern is not a critical factor for the SEU cross sections. Cross section interval of upset events was evaluated and the soft error rates in aerospace environment were predicted for the SoC. The tests also indicated that ultra-high linear energy transfer (LET) particle can cause exception currents in the 28-nm SoC, and some even are lower than the normal case.

Influence of Tilted Angle on Effective Linear Energy Transfer in Single Event Effect Tests for Integrated Circuits at 130 nm Technology Node

A heavy-ion irradiation experiment is studied in digital storage cells with different design approaches in 130？nm CMOS bulk Si and silicon-on-insulator （SOI） technologies. The effectiveness of linear energy transfer （LET） with a tilted ion beam at the 130？nm technology node is obtained. Tests of tilted angles θ=0 ° , 30 ° and 60 ° with respect to the normal direction are performed under heavy-ion Kr with certain power whose LET is about 40？MeVcm 2 /mg at normal incidence. Error numbers in D flip-flop chains are used to determine their upset sensitivity at different incidence angles. It is indicated that the effective LETs for SOI and bulk Si are not exactly in inverse proportion to cosθ , furthermore the effective LET for SOI is more closely in inverse proportion to cosθ compared to bulk Si, which are also the well known behavior. It is interesting that, if we design the sample in the dual interlocked storage cell approach, the effective LET in bulk Si will look like inversely proportional to cosθ very well, which is also specifically explained.

First principles simulation technique for characterizing single event effects

This paper develops a new simulation technique to characterize single event effects on semiconductor devices. The technique used to calculate the single event effects is developed according to the physical interaction mechanism of a single event effect. An application of the first principles simulation technique is performed to predict the ground-test single event upset effect on field-programmable gate arrays based on 0.25μm advanced complementary metal-oxidesemiconductor technology. The agreement between the single event upset cross section accessed from a broad-beam heavy ion experiment and simulation shows that the simulation technique could be used to characterize the single event effects induced by heavy ions on a semiconductor device.

Investigation of flux dependent sensitivity on single event effect in memory devices

Heavy-ion flux is an important experimental parameter in the ground based single event tests. The flux impact on a single event effect in different memory devices is analyzed by using GEANT4 and TCAD simulation methods. The transient radial track profile depends not only on the linear energy transfer （LET） of the incident ion, but also on the mass and energy of the ion. For the ions with the energies at the Bragg peaks, the radial charge distribution is wider when the ion LET is larger. The results extracted from the GEANT4 and TCAD simulations, together with detailed analysis of the device structure, are presented to demonstrate phenomena observed in the flux related experiment. The analysis shows that the flux effect conclusions drawn from the experiment are intrinsically connected and all indicate the mechanism that the flux effect stems from multiple ion-induced pulses functioning together and relies exquisitely on the specific response of the device.

The modulation effect of substrate doping on multi-node charge collection and single-event transient propagation in 90-nm bulk complementary metal-oxide semiconductor technology

Variation of substrate background doping will affect the charge collection of active and passive MOSFETs in complementary metal-oxide semiconductor （CMOS） technologies, which are significant for charge sharing, thus affecting the propagated single event transient pulsewidths in circuits. The trends of charge collected by the drain of a positive channel metal-oxide semiconductor （PMOS） and an N metal-oxide semiconductor （NMOS） are opposite as the substrate doping increases. The PMOS source will inject carriers after strike and the amount of charge injected will irlcrease as the substrate doping increases, whereas the source of the NMOS will mainly collect carriers and the source of the NMOS can also inject electrons when the substrate doping is light enough. Additionally, it indicates that substrate doping mainly affects the bipolar amplification component of a single-event transient current, and has little effect on the drift and diffusion. The change in substrate doping has a much greater effect on PMOS than on NMOS.

Single-event-effect propagation investigation on nanoscale system on chip by applying heavy-ion microbeam and event tree analysis

The propagation of single-event effects(SEEs)on a Xilinx Zynq-7000 system on chip(SoC)was inves-tigated using heavy-ion microbeam radiation.The irradia-tion results reveal several functional blocks’sensitivity locations and cross sections,for instance,the arithmetic logic unit,register,D-cache,and peripheral,while irradi-ating the on-chip memory(OCM)region.Moreover,event tree analysis was executed based on the obtained microbeam irradiation results.This study quantitatively assesses the probabilities of SEE propagation from the OCM to other blocks in the SoC.

New insight into the parasitic bipolar amplification effect in single event transient production

In this paper, a new method is proposed to study the mechanism of charge collection in single event transient （SET） production in 90 nm bulk complementary metal oxide semiconductor （CMOS） technology. We find that different from the case in the pMOSFET, the parasitic bipolar amplification effect （bipolar effect） in the balanced inverter does not exist in the nMOSFET after the ion striking. The influence of the suhstrate process on the bipolar effect is also studied in the pMOSFET. We find that the bipolar effect can be effectively mitigated by a buried deep P＋-well layer and can be removed by a buried SO2 layer.

Investigation of maximum proton energy for qualified ground based evaluation of single-event effects in SRAM devices

Existing standards show a clear discrepancy in the specification of the maximum proton energy for qualified ground-based evaluation of single-event effects,which can range from 180 to 500 MeV. This work finds that the threshold linear energy transfer of a tested device is a critical parameter for determining the maximum proton energy. The inner mechanisms are further revealed. Highenergy deposition events(>10 MeV) in sensitive volumes are attributed to the interaction between protons and the tungsten vias in the metallization layers.

Single-event effects induced by medium-energy protons in 28 nm system-on-chip

Single-event effects(SEEs)induced by mediumenergy protons in a 28 nm system-on-chip(SoC)were investigated at the China Institute of Atomic Energy.An on-chip memory block was irradiated with 90 MeV and 70 MeV protons,respectively.Single-bit upset and multicell upset events were observed,and an uppermost number of nine upset cells were discovered in the 90 MeV proton irradiation test.The results indicate that the SEE sensitivities of the 28 nm SoC to the 90 MeV and 70 MeV protons were similar.Cosmic Ray Effects on Micro-Electronics Monte Carlo simulations were analyzed,and it demonstrates that protons can induce effects in a 28 nm SoC if their energies are greater than 1.4 MeV and that the lowest corresponding linear energy transfer was 0.142 MeV cm^2 mg^-1.The similarities and discrepancies of the SEEs induced by the 90 MeV and 70 MeV protons were analyzed.

Temporal characteristic analysis of single event effects in pulse width modulator

In this paper,the nature and origin of single event effects(SEE) are studied by injecting laser pulses into different circuit blocks,combining with analysis to map pulse width modulators circuitry in the microchip die.A time-domain error-identification method is used in the temporal characteristic analysis of SEE.SEE signatures of different injection times are compared.More serious SEE are observed when the laser shot occurs on a rising edge of the device output for blocks of the error amplifier,current sense comparator,and T and SR latches.