Title :
Cosmic-ray soft error rate characterization of a standard 0.6-/spl mu/m CMOS process
Author :
Hazucha, Peter ; Svensson, Christer ; Wender, Stephen A.
Author_Institution :
Linkoping Univ., Sweden
Abstract :
Cosmic-ray soft errors from ground level to aircraft flight altitudes are caused mainly by neutrons. We derived an empirical model for estimation of soft error rate (SER). Test circuits were fabricated in a standard 0.6-/spl mu/m CMOS process. The neutron SER dependence on the critical charge and supply voltage was measured. Time constants of the noise current were extracted from the measurements and compared with device simulations in three dimensions. The empirical model was calibrated and verified by independent SER measurements. The model is capable of predicting cosmic-ray neutron SER of any circuit manufactured in the same process as the test circuits. We predicted SER of a static memory cell.
Keywords :
CMOS digital integrated circuits; avionics; cosmic ray interactions; integrated circuit noise; integrated circuit reliability; neutron effects; 0.6 micron; CMOS process; SER dependence; aircraft flight altitudes; cosmic-ray soft error rate; critical charge; device simulations; empirical model; ground level; neutrons; noise current; soft error rate; static memory cell; supply voltage; time constants; Aircraft; CMOS process; Charge measurement; Circuit testing; Current measurement; Error analysis; Estimation error; Neutrons; Semiconductor device modeling; Voltage;
Journal_Title :
Solid-State Circuits, IEEE Journal of
