Impact of X-Ray Exposure on a Triple-Level-Cell NAND Flash

Author

Gadlage, M.J. ; Kay, Matthew J. ; Ingalls, J. David ; Duncan, Adam R. ; Ashley, Shawn A.

Author_Institution

NAVSEA Crane, Crane, IN, USA

Volume

60

Issue

6

fYear

2013

fDate

Dec. 2013

Firstpage

4533

Lastpage

4539

Abstract

The total ionizing dose response of a triple-level-cell (TLC) NAND flash is shown to be low enough that data corruption can occur as a result of an x-ray inspection. Only a few seconds of x-ray exposure corresponding to a total dose of merely 50 rad(Si) in a real-time x-ray source are required to induce errors. An in-depth total dose analysis shows which pages of the memory and data patterns are the most susceptible to radiation. The results show that TLC NAND flash devices are not suitable for use in high radiation environments, and that care must be taken when exposing them to even small x-ray exposures like those present in a circuit board inspection.

Keywords

NAND circuits; X-ray effects; flash memories; radiation hardening (electronics); TLC; X-ray exposure; X-ray inspection; circuit board inspection; data corruption; data patterns; high radiation environments; in-depth total dose analysis; real-time X-ray source; triple-level-cell NAND flash memories; Flash memories; Inspection; Logic gates; Radiation effects; Sensitivity; Threshold voltage; X-rays; Dose effects; X-rays; flash memories; radiation damage;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Nuclear Science, IEEE Transactions on

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

0018-9499

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/TNS.2013.2280432

Filename

6616668