Pulsed laser-induced SEU in integrated circuits: a practical method for hardness assurance testing

Author

Buchner, S. ; Kang, K. ; Stapor, W.J. ; Campbell, A.B. ; Knudson, A.R. ; McDonald, P. ; Rivet, S.

Author_Institution

Martin Marietta Lab., Baltimore, MD, USA

Volume

37

Issue

6

fYear

1990

fDate

12/1/1990 12:00:00 AM

Firstpage

1825

Lastpage

1831

Abstract

A pulsed picosecond laser was used to measure the threshold for single event upset (SEU) and single event latchup (SEL) for a detailed study of a CMOS SRAM and a bipolar flip-flop. Comparing the ion and laser upset data for two such vastly different technologies gives a good measure of how versatile the technique is. The technique provided both consistent and repeatable results that agreed with published ion upset data for both types of circuits. However, measurements of the absolute threshold linear energy transfer (LET) using infrared laser light do not agree with those of the ions, being about 50% too high for the SRAMs, and about 20% too high for the bipolar flip-flops. The consistency of the results, together with the advantages of using a laser system, suggests that the pulsed laser can be used for SEU/SEL hardness assurance of integrated circuits

Keywords

CMOS integrated circuits; SRAM chips; bipolar integrated circuits; flip-flops; integrated circuit testing; integrated logic circuits; laser beam effects; radiation hardening (electronics); CMOS SRAM; bipolar flip-flop; hardness assurance testing; infrared laser light; integrated circuits; ion upset data; pulsed picosecond laser; single event latchup; single event upset threshold; threshold linear energy transfer; CMOS technology; Energy measurement; Flip-flops; Integrated circuit measurements; Integrated circuit technology; Optical pulses; Pulse circuits; Pulse measurements; Random access memory; Single event upset;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Nuclear Science, IEEE Transactions on

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

0018-9499

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/23.101196

Filename

101196