Pulsed Laser SEU Cross Section Measurement Using Coincidence Detectors

• Published in: IEEE transactions on nuclear science Vol. 56; no. 4; pp. 2001 - 2007
• Main Authors: Palomo, F.R., Mogollon, J.M., Napoles, J., Guzman-Miranda, H., Vega-Leal, A.P., Aguirre, M.A., Moreno, P., Mendez, C., de Aldana, J.R.V.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York IEEE 01.08.2009; The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE)
• Subjects: Circuit faults; Circuit testing; Counting; Cross sections; Detectors; Digital circuits; Faults; FPGA; Inspection; Integrated circuit measurements; Integrated circuit testing; Mathematical models; on-line testing; Optical pulses; Pulse circuits; Pulse measurements; pulsed laser; Pulsed lasers; Running; SEU cross section; Single event upset
• ISSN: 0018-9499; 1558-1578
• DOI: 10.1109/TNS.2009.2018274

Pulsed laser testing is a useful technique for an accurate inspection of potential weak zones in a layout of an integrated circuit. A laser pulse can provoke a similar effect as a particle hitting with the advantage of a perfect location of the hitting point. The present work describes a general method to determine a Pulsed Laser Single Event Upset (SEU) Cross Section over digital circuits by means of counting statistics. The technique is based on a coincidence detector that counts fault events by comparing synchronous outputs of the digital circuit under test and a replica of the design running on a control FPGA. A correspondence map, previously generated by injection fault analysis techniques on the replica, establishes a one-way correspondence between output patterns and each bit flip. With this scheme, the SEU is detected dynamically just using a comparison between the running model and the circuit.