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.

Study of leakage current degradation based on stacking faults expansion in irradiated SiC junction barrier Schottky diodes

A comprehensive investigation was conducted to explore the degradation mechanism of leakage current in SiC junction barrier Schottky(JBS)diodes under heavy ion irradiation.We propose and verify that the generation of stacking faults(SFs)induced by the recombination of massive electron-hole pairs during irradiation is the cause of reverse leakage current degradation based on experiments results.The irradiation experiment was carried out based on Ta ions with high linear energy transfer(LET)of 90.5 MeV/(mg/cm^(2)).It is observed that the leakage current of the diode undergoes the permanent increase during irradiation when biased at 20%of the rated reverse voltage.Micro-PL spectroscopy and PL micro-imaging were utilized to detect the presence of SFs in the irradiated SiC JBS diodes.We combined the degraded performance of irradiated samples with SFs introduced by heavy ion irradiation.Finally,three-dimensional(3D)TCAD simulation was employed to evaluate the excessive electron-hole pairs(EHPs)concentration excited by heavy ion irradiation.It was observed that the excessive hole concentration under irradiation exceeded significantly the threshold hole concentration necessary for the expansion of SFs in the substrate.The proposed mechanism suggests that the process and material characteristics of the silicon carbide should be considered in order to reinforcing against the single event effect of SiC power devices.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Angular dependence of multiple-bit upset response in static random access memories under heavy ion irradiation

Experimental evidence is presented relevant to the angular dependences of multiple-bit upset （MBU） rates and patterns in static random access memories （SRAMs） under heavy ion irradiation. The single event upset （SEU） cross sections under tilted ion strikes are overestimated by 23.9%-84.6%, compared with under normally incident ion with the equivalent linear energy transfer （LET） value of 41 MeV/（mg/cm2）, which can be partially explained by the fact that the MBU rate for tilted ions of 30° is 8.5%-9.8% higher than for normally incident ions. While at a lower LET of - 9.5 MeV/（mg/cm2）, no clear discrepancy is observed. Moreover, since the ion trajectories at normal and tilted incidences are different, the predominant double-bit upset （DBU） patterns measured are different in both conditions. Those differences depend on the LET values of heavy ions and devices under test. Thus, effective LET method should be used carefully in ground-based testing of single event effects （SEE） sensitivity, especially in MBU-sensitive devices.

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.

Large energy-loss straggling of swift heavy ions in ultra-thin active silicon layers

Monte Carlo simulations reveal considerable straggling of energy loss by the same ions with the same energy in fully-depleted silicon-on-insulator （FDSOI） devices with ultra-thin sensitive silicon layers down to 2.5 rim. The absolute straggling of deposited energy decreases with decreasing thickness of the active silicon layer. While the relative straggling increases gradually with decreasing thickness of silicon films and exhibits a sharp rise as the thickness of the silicon film descends below a threshold value of 50 nm, with the dispersion of deposited energy ascending above ~10%. Ion species and energy dependence of the energy-loss straggling are also investigated. For a given beam, the dispersion of deposited energy results in large uncertainty on the actual linear energy transfer （LET） of incident ions, and thus single event effect （SEE） responses, which pose great challenges for traditional error rate prediction methods.

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.

Single-event response of the SiGe HBT in TCAD simulations and laser microbeam experiment

In this paper the single-event responses of the silicon germanium heterojunction bipolar transistors(SiGe HBTs) are investigated by TCAD simulations and laser microbeam experiment. A three-dimensional(3D) simulation model is established, the single event effect(SEE) simulation is further carried out on the basis of Si Ge HBT devices, and then, together with the laser microbeam test, the charge collection behaviors are analyzed, including the single event transient(SET) induced transient terminal currents, and the sensitive area of SEE charge collection. The simulations and experimental results are discussed in detail and it is demonstrated that the nature of the current transient is controlled by the behaviors of the collector–substrate(C/S) junction and charge collection by sensitive electrodes, thereby giving out the sensitive area and electrode of SiGe HBT in SEE.

Numerical Simulations of Anomalies of Precipitation and Surface Air Temperature in China in the Summer of 1997

The anomalies of precipitation and surface air temperature in the summer (June to August) of 1997 are simulated by use of a global spectral numerical climate model (L9R15) developed in Australia originally and modified in LASG. The purpose of this paper is to study the effect of the El Nino event that happened in that year on the anomalies. The results show that the 1997 El Nino event does have a lot of influences on the climatic anomaly in that summer, however, the effect is not the same as pointed out by statistical studies. Therefore, the effects of the El Nino events are of uncertainties. The effects of the El Nino events on the regional climate in China might be different due to the different SSTA distributions over the western and northwestern Pacific in the El Nino years. It is likely more important to pay attention to the SSTA distributive patterns and values in the Chinese adjacent oceans. Besides the El Nino event there might be other factors such as the South Asia high at the 100 hPa level which has more direct impact on the climatic anomaly in China and can be taken as another strong signal of the climatic change in the atmosphere. Key words Climatic anomalies - Numerical modelling - Effect of El Nino event Sponsored by the Key Program of National Natural Science Foundation of China: “ Analyses and Mechanism Study of the Regional Climatic Change in China” under Grant No. 49735170.

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 effects of radiation damage on power VDMOS devices with composite SiO_2-Si_3N_4 films

Total dose effects and single event effects on radiation-hardened power vertical double-diffusion metal oxide semiconductor（VDMOS） devices with composite SiO2-Si3N4 film gates are investigated.The relationships among the important electrical parameters of the samples with different thickness SiO2-Si3N4 films,such as threshold voltage,breakdown voltage,and on-state resistance in accumulated dose,are discussed.The total dose experiment results show that the breakdown voltage and the on-state resistance barely change with the accumulated dose.However,the relationships between the threshold voltages of the samples and the accumulated dose are more complex,and not only positively drift,but also negatively drift.At the end of the total dose experiment,we select the group of samples which have the smaller threshold voltage shift to carry out the single event effect studies.We find that the samples with appropriate thickness ratio SiO2-Si3N4 films have a good radiation-hardening ability.This method may be useful in solving both the SEGR and the total dose problems with the composite SiO2-Si3N4 films.

Single event effect in a ferroelectric-gate field-effect transistor under heavy-ion irradiation

The single event effect in ferroelectric-gate field-effect transistor （FeFET） under heavy ion irradiation is investigated in this paper. The simulation results show that the transient responses are much lower in a FeFET than in a conventional metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor （MOSFET） when the ion strikes the channel. The main reason is that the polarization-induced charges （the polarization direction here is away from the silicon surface） bring a negative surface po- tential which will affect the distribution of carders and charge collection in different electrodes significantly. The simulation results are expected to explain that the FeFET has a relatively good immunity to single event effect.

Experimental study on radiation effects in floating gate read-only-memories and static random access memories

Radiation effects of the floating gate read-only-memory （FG ROM） and the static random access memory （SRAM） have been evaluated using the 14 MeV neutron and 31.9MeV proton beams and Co-60 γ-rays. The neutron fluence, when the first error occurs in the FG ROMs, is at least 5 orders of magnitude higher than that in the SRAMs, and the proton fluence, 4 orders of magnitude higher. The total dose threshold for Co-60 γ-ray irradiation is about 104 rad （Si） for both memories. The difference and similarity are attributed to the structure of the memory cells and the mechanism of radiation effects. It is concluded that the FG ROMs are more reliable as semiconductor memories for storing data than the SRAMs, when they are used in the satellites or space crafts exposed to high energy particle radiation.

Mechanisms of atmospheric neutron-induced single event upsets in nanometric SOI and bulk SRAM devices based on experiment-verified simulation tool

In this paper, a simulation tool named the neutron-induced single event effect predictive platform（NSEEP^2） is proposed to reveal the mechanism of atmospheric neutron-induced single event effect（SEE） in an electronic device, based on heavy-ion data and Monte-Carlo neutron transport simulation. The detailed metallization architecture and sensitive volume topology of a nanometric static random access memory（SRAM） device can be considered to calculate the real-time soft error rate（RTSER） in the applied environment accurately. The validity of this tool is verified by real-time experimental results. In addition, based on the NSEEP^2, RTSERs of 90 nm–32 nm silicon on insulator（SOI） and bulk SRAM device under various ambient conditions are predicted and analyzed to evaluate the neutron SEE sensitivity and reveal the underlying mechanism. It is found that as the feature size shrinks, the change trends of neutron SEE sensitivity of bulk and SOI technologies are opposite, which can be attributed to the different MBU performances. The RTSER of bulk technology is always 2.8–64 times higher than that of SOI technology, depending on the technology node, solar activity, and flight height.

Experimental verification of the parasitic bipolar amplification effect in PMOS single event transients

The contribution of parasitic bipolar amplification to SETs is experimentally verified using two P-hit target chains in the normal layout and in the special layout. For PMOSs in the normal layout, the single-event charge collection is composed of diffusion, drift, and the parasitic bipolar effect, while for PMOSs in the special layout, the parasitic bipolar junction transistor cannot turn on. Heavy ion experimental results show that PMOSs without parasitic bipolar amplification have a 21.4% decrease in the average SET pulse width and roughly a 40.2% reduction in the SET cross-section.