Title :
Circuit contributions to alpha-particle sensitivity in DRAMs
Author :
Carter, P.M. ; Wilkins, B.R.
Author_Institution :
University of Southampton, Department of Electronics & Computer Science, Southampton, UK
Abstract :
Different manufacturers´ 64 K DRAM products have been studied to determine which circuit elements contribute towards the overall alpha-particle-induced soft error rate. This has shown that alpha hits on the bit lines are far and away the most important contributors to soft errors: cell, sense amplifier and peripheral circuit hits have insignificant effects. The results also indicate why bit lines are so sensitive.
Keywords :
alpha-particle effects; field effect integrated circuits; integrated circuit testing; integrated memory circuits; random-access storage; 64 kbit; DRAM; NMOS circuits; alpha-particle sensitivity; alpha-particle-induced soft error rate; bit lines; cell; circuit elements; peripheral circuit; sense amplifier;
Journal_Title :
Electronics Letters
DOI :
10.1049/el:19860917
