First failure predictions for EPROMs of the type flown on the MPTB satellite

Author

McNulty, Peter J. ; Scheick, Leif Z. ; Roth, David R. ; Davis, Michael G. ; Tortora, Michelle R S

Author_Institution

Dept. of Phys. & Astron., Clemson Univ., SC, USA

Volume

47

Issue

6

fYear

2000

fDate

12/1/2000 12:00:00 AM

Firstpage

2237

Lastpage

2243

Abstract

Extreme value analysis applied to ground test data provides a new method for predicting the first cell to fail in an array of EPROM memory cells exposed to ionizing radiation. Which cell fails first is a function of the dose absorbed by each as well as the cell-to-cell variations in manufacturing with processing variations apparently dominating fluctuations in absorbed dose. The method is applied to the ground controls of UVPROMs flown on MPTB. These procedures can be used to screen devices for flight parts. Power-law dependence between the rate of electrons leaving the floating gate and the absorbed dose is observed, and it may explain the SEU immunity observed in EPROM memory cells flown in space

Keywords

EPROM; artificial satellites; failure analysis; space vehicle electronics; ultraviolet radiation effects; value engineering; EPROM memory cell; MPTB satellite; SEU immunity; UVPROM; absorbed dose; device screening; extreme value analysis; failure analysis; floating gate; ionizing radiation; space vehicle electronics; EPROM; Electrons; Failure analysis; Fluctuations; Ionizing radiation; Nonvolatile memory; Physics; Satellites; Space technology; Testing;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Nuclear Science, IEEE Transactions on

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

0018-9499

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/23.903759

Filename

903759