Correlation of Prediction to On-Orbit SEU Performance for a Commercial 0.25-μm CMOS SRAM

Boeing Satellite Development Center (SDC) geomoblie satellites have experienced a number of very large solar flares during their operational life. Comparison performance in a geostationary orbit to predictions based on heavy-ion ground testing for a digital signal processor (DSP) payload based on 0.25-mum CMOS, megagate-ASICs will be presented. Performance during flare peaks will be shown, and comparisons will be made between the response measured during each event, and some commonly used models. The results show that the careful technology selection and SEU mitigation techniques have enabled the spacecraft to operate through several periods of high radiation flux with no ill effects to the system.