Exploration of noise robustness and sensitivity of bulk current sensors for soft error detection

Radiation induced soft errors are a serious concern not only for memories but also logic circuits. Amongst the several proposed countermeasures, Bulk Built-in Current Sensors represent a promising approach with fast response times and reasonable costs in terms of area and power. However, these circuits, as well as similar sensors that measure substrate effects, are strongly susceptible to substrate noise. The intention of this work is a thorough analysis of activation mechanism and noise behavior of these sensors as well the exploration of strategies to increase noise robustness.