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![Total Harmonic Distortion evolution of output signals of three analog Filters programmed in an SC-FPAA, as function of the accumulated dose, in a practical TID experiment [13].](profile/Tiago-Balen/publication/270586941/figure/fig1/AS:670716294873097@1536922634363/Total-Harmonic-Distortion-evolution-of-output-signals-of-three-analog-Filters-programmed.png)
Total Harmonic Distortion evolution of output signals of three analog Filters programmed in an SC-FPAA, as function of the accumulated dose, in a practical TID experiment [13].
Source publication
Analog integrated circuits operating in radiation environments. In previous irradiation experiments performed on a switched-capacitor filter, implemented in a programmable analog array, it was observed a sudden recovery of the device performance during the irradiation, while increasing the accumulated dose. In some cases the considered performance...
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... between these two extremes, the harmonic distortion did not show a monotonic behavior. As depicted in Fig 1, the THD started to increase, with an exponential trend, when the dose reached approximately 12krad. Then, when the total accumulated dose reached 17.5krad, the harmonic distortion suddenly decreased and started to increase again with the same trend presented before. ...
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... as one will see on the results of this work (in the following sub-sections) this degradation model for the V th parameter produced similar simulation results to that observed in the practical experiments previously performed. As an example, in one of our experiments the partial inactivity window occurred nearly from 13krad up to 17.5krad, as can be noticed in Fig 1. The nominal value of the bias current is 10μA. ...
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... In the nominal combination of threshold voltage (fault-free condition), for PMOS-DA output stage, the operating point is close to -1.2V in 'V in ' axis, as depict- ed in Fig 10 (curve 1). The critical situation occurs when V th parame- ter of NMOS transistors goes negative, which means that M6 (Fig 3(A)) is operating in strong inversion, and therefore, any voltage between drain and source is sufficient for M6 to present a high drain current. ...
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... critical situation occurs when V th parame- ter of NMOS transistors goes negative, which means that M6 (Fig 3(A)) is operating in strong inversion, and therefore, any voltage between drain and source is sufficient for M6 to present a high drain current. In this situation the NMOS transistor pull down the out- put to V ss , as can be observed in Fig 10 (curve 3). The evolution between situations 3 and 4 (V thN from -0.5V to 0.01V and V thP from -1.26V to -1.7V) is depicted in curves 3.D to 3.A, which shows the recovery of the output stage of the PMOS-DA architecture. ...
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... the complete OpAmps, the output signal of the differential amplifier, V out1 (Figs 2(C) and 2(D)), drives the input of the output stage (V in in Figs 2(E) and 2(F)). The operating point of this building block is the input volt- age to which the amplifier presents a high and linear Fig 11 shows that the operating point of the NMOS-DA output stage also presents a variation around the nominal value, but not strong enough to degrade its linearity. This shift can lead to an increase in the output systemic offset if the shift in the OP of the input stage does not vary in the same way. ...
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... counterpart amplifiers were designed to achieve 1MHz Gain-Bandwidth (GBW) parameter. Fig 12 shows the simulated frequency response of the PMOS-DA OpAmp, employed in an inverter configu- ration with a closed loop gain equal to 10 and consid- ering the same V th deviations adopted on the DC anal- ysis. No significant change in the frequency response is observed until the threshold deviations achieve the values of situation 2 (marker 2 on the related figures). ...
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... GBW of the PMOS-DA OpAmp is recovered when considering threshold volt- age deviations higher than the upper limit of the win- dow (situation 4). The NMOS-DA OpAmp remains fully operational for all combinations of V th until the situation 6, as can be observed in Fig 13. One can notice that, for both counterpart amplifiers, TID induced threshold voltage deviation did not change the rolloff factor of the frequency re- sponse. ...
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... can notice that, for both counterpart amplifiers, TID induced threshold voltage deviation did not change the rolloff factor of the frequency re- sponse. On the other hand, the frequency of the first pole can be slightly modified, as can be seen in Figs 12 and 13. ...
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... this purpose, three config- urations concerning the input frequency (f i ) and closed loop gain (G) of an inverter amplifier were considered: 1) G=1 and f i = 10kHz; 2) G=1 and f i = 1MHz; 3) G=20 and f i = 10kHz. Figs 15 to 17 show the out- put signal for each condition with superimposed sig- nals representing 3 distinct situation of threshold de- viations: before the partial inactivity (27 iterations of injected V th shifts between situations 1 and 2), during the partial inactivity (36 iterations) and after the in- activity window (26 iterations). The total number of superimposed curves is 89. ...
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... a result, it may affect the robustness of the OpAmps related to TID-induced threshold voltage deviations. This dependency can be noticed in Figs 15 to 17. Fig 18 illustrates the increase of the amplitude signal at the OpAmp differential input when increasing the closed loop gain (reducing the negative feedback) and the signal frequency, considering the PMOS-DA topology. For the NMOS-DA OpAmp, no catastroph- ic change was observed at the output signal to all the 89 simulated iterations of each combination (gain and amplitude). ...
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... OpAmp DC gain is inversely proportional to I SS [17], whose tendency during the inactivity win- dow is depicted in Fig 4. Regarding the PMOS-DA architecture, the DC gain during the inactivity window is well evidenced, as can be seen in Fig 19. The THD of the output signal was also eval- uated in the simulations, considering 100 harmonics. ...
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... the OpAmp output offset voltage was also monitored considering an inverter configuration with unit gain. Taking into account the threshold volt- age deviation simulated in this work for both amplifi- ers, it is possible to observe the effect of partial inactiv- ity window in PMOS-DA architecture (between mark- ers 2 and 4 of Fig 21). In this window the OpAmp fails, reducing the DC level of the output to near VSS. ...
Citations
... TID exposure in CMOS OPAMPs can reduce gain-bandwidth, potentially increasing susceptibility to high-frequency distortion as seen in 0.5 μm CMOS devices with pMOS input differential pairs. Improved radiation hardness is observed in architectures using nMOS-input stages, which show better linearity, resilience to threshold voltage shifts, and less performance degradation overall [149]. These radiation-induced limitations on bandwidth are also observed in bipolar OPAMPs, e.g. the Texas Instruments TM μA741, with impacts on both their gain-bandwidth product and slew rate [150]. ...
In the framework of the NewSpace revolution, time–to–market and budget constraints drive the development of small and medium–sized satellites in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) orbit. The adoption of Commercial Off–the–Shelf (COTS) components represents the current trend to fulfill the NewSpace goals, given their low cost, wide product availability, small time–to–market, and the ability to integrate the most recent advancements in space applications. However, migrating from radiation-hardened (rad–hard) devices to COTS ones requires ensuring comparable reliability levels. To this end, an “up–screening” of the COTS devices and systems should be performed in compliance with widely adopted standard regulations, such as those used by ESA or NASA. In this paper, we review COTS components and systems, such as diodes, Bipolar Junction Transistors (BJTs), Field Effect Transistors (FETs), Operational Amplifiers (OPAMPs), memories, and Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), proven–flight or ad–hoc tested for compliance with standard regulations. In conclusion, the most promising devices in terms of cost and radiation tolerances are identified, providing useful benchmarks for space engineers developing COTS–based innovative systems.
... As can be seen in Fig. 7, the module with higher degradation is the SAR converter operating at 74 ksps. The non-monotonic behavior of the THD in respect to the dose is probably related to the rebound (or super recovery) effect [24], which was already observed and explained in details in previous irradiation experiments with programmable analog devices [25,26]. Fig. 8 shows the degradation observed at the output of module 2 (SAR@74) for the sinusoidal signal, which explains the increase on the THD. ...
This work presents results of three distinct radiation tests performed upon a fault tolerant data acquisition system comprising a design diversity redundancy technique. The first and second experiments are Total Ionizing Dose (TID) essays, comprising gamma and X-ray irradiations. The last experiment considers single event effects, in which two heavy ion irradiation campaigns are carried out. The case study system comprises three analog-to-digital converters and two software-based voters, besides additional software and hardware resources used for controlling, monitoring and memory management. The applied Diversity Triple Modular Redundancy (DTMR) technique, comprises different levels of diversity (temporal and architectural). The circuit was designed in a programmable System-on-Chip (PSoC), fabricated in a 130nm CMOS technology process. Results show that the technique may increase the lifetime of the system under TID if comparing with a non-redundant implementation.
Considering the heavy ions experiments the system was proved effective to tolerate 100% of the observed errors originated in the converters, while errors in the processing unit present a higher criticality. Critical errors occurring in one of the voters were also observed. A second heavy ion campaign was then carried out to investigate the voters reliability, comparing the the dynamic cross section of three different software-based voter schemes implemented in the considered PSoC.
... As can be seen in Fig. 7, the module with higher degradation is the SAR converter operating at 74 ksps. The non-monotonic behavior of the THD in respect to the dose is probably related to the rebound (or super recovery) effect [24], which was already observed and explained in details in previous irradiation experiments with programmable analog devices [25,26]. Fig. 8 shows the degradation observed at the output of module 2 (SAR@74) for the sinusoidal signal, which explains the increase on the THD. ...
This work presents results of three distinct radiation tests performed upon a fault-tolerant data acquisition system comprising a design diversity redundancy technique. The first and second experiments are Total Ionizing Dose (TID) essays, comprising gamma and X-ray irradiations. The last experiment considers single event effects, in which two heavy ion irradiation campaigns are carried out. The case study system comprises three analog-to-digital converters and two software-based voters, besides additional software and hardware resources used for controlling, monitoring and memory management. The applied Diversity Triple Modular Redundancy (DTMR) technique, comprises different levels of diversity (temporal and architectural). The circuit was designed in a programmable System-on-Chip (PSoC), fabricated in a 130nm CMOS technology process. Results show that the technique may increase the lifetime of the system under TID if comparing with a non-redundant implementation. Considering the heavy ions experiments the system was proved effective to tolerate 100% of the observed errors originated in the converters, while errors in the processing unit present a higher criticality. Critical errors occurring in one of the voters were also observed. A second heavy-ion campaign was then carried out to investigate the voters reliability, comparing the dynamic cross-section of three different software-based voter schemes implemented in the considered PSoC.
... The designer needs to confirm the circuit level reliability degradation by analysing information on the temperature and the expected lifetime of the circuit for a specific application, i.e. mission profile. State of the art shows the device level degradation mechanism [17] as well as circuit level reliability analysis of the digital [18][19][20][21] and analogue circuits [22][23][24]. This reliability analysis in [22] primarily considers TID effect on operational amplifier while [23] discusses challenges and flow of reliability analysis of analogue ICs. ...
... State of the art shows the device level degradation mechanism [17] as well as circuit level reliability analysis of the digital [18][19][20][21] and analogue circuits [22][23][24]. This reliability analysis in [22] primarily considers TID effect on operational amplifier while [23] discusses challenges and flow of reliability analysis of analogue ICs. The lifetime enhancement process of the DC/DC converter circuit is described in [24]. ...
In this study, an effective and efficient approach for reliability analysis is developed to bridge the gap between device‐level reliability and that at the product level. Continual reduction of device dimensions, gate‐oxide and increase in channel doping results in an increased electric field which is introducing most of the reliability concerns. Four most important reliability issues impacting circuit design are hot carrier injection, bias temperature instability, time‐dependent dielectric breakdown and self‐heating. As the second‐generation current controlled conveyor (CCCII) circuit are used to implement oscillator, filter clock and so on, which are working continuously even in sleep mode. So it is important to take care of all the reliability aspects while designing CCCII. There is a challenge in complex design to identify which devices (MOS, resistor and capacitor) are susceptible to degradation and then redesign and mitigate this effect for a robust and reliable design. The objective of this work is to detect reliability issues and design a programmable current conveyor which can work safely for a long duration. The circuit has been designed and simulated using 28 nm CMOS technology model parameters on Cadence Virtuoso/AMS environment (ELDO simulator) using ± 1.8 V supply voltage and results have been verified with post‐layout netlist.
... Such components have a similarity with the analog programmable blocks of PSoC, though their functionality is purely analog, with digital parts existing only to set the system programmability, besides clock and power management. An explanation of the failure mechanisms in FPAAs, and more specifically in their internal OpAmps, under irradiation, is presented in [14] and [15]. Therefore, the main contribution of this paper is to assess the tolerance level of this design diversity-based MS system to TID effects. ...
... As can be seen in Fig. 5, the module with higher degradation is the SAR converter operating at 74 ksps. The nonmonotonic behavior of the THD in respect to the dose is probably related to the rebound (or superrecovery) effect [36], which was already observed and explained in detail in previous irradiation experiments with programmable analog devices [14], [15]. In those works, linearity improvement in analog circuits was also observed for some intervals of accumulated dose values. ...
This paper describes the results of a total ionizing dose test on a data acquisition system (DAS) protected with a design diversity redundancy technique. The DAS is composed of three analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) and two voters, implementing different levels of diversity (architectural and temporal). This system is implemented on a 130-nm commercial mixed-signal (MS) programmable system-on-chip (PSoC 5) from Cypress Semiconductor. The system was tested under
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Co gamma radiation with a dose rate of 1 krad(Si)/h reaching a total dose of 242 krad(Si). One of the system copies presented a significant degradation on its linearity during the irradiation, while the others kept the functionality with less severe degradation, evidencing the advantage of using diversity to improve resilience in MS redundant systems. Additionally, dynamic parameters of the ADCs are evaluated, and failure mechanisms are discussed.
... Such components have a similarity with the analog programmable blocks of PSoC, though their functionality is purely analog, with digital parts existing only to set the system programmability, besides clock and power management. An explanation of the failure mechanisms in FPAAs, and more specifically in their internal OpAmps, under irradiation, is presented in [14] and [15]. Therefore, the main contribution of this paper is to assess the tolerance level of this design diversity-based MS system to TID effects. ...
... As can be seen in Fig. 5, the module with higher degradation is the SAR converter operating at 74 ksps. The nonmonotonic behavior of the THD in respect to the dose is probably related to the rebound (or superrecovery) effect [36], which was already observed and explained in detail in previous irradiation experiments with programmable analog devices [14], [15]. In those works, linearity improvement in analog circuits was also observed for some intervals of accumulated dose values. ...
In this work a data acquisition system, based on a design diversity redundant scheme, is tested under total ionizing dose effects. The data acquisition system is composed by three ADCs and two voters, implementing different levels of diversity (architectural and temporal). This system is implemented on a 130nm commercial mixed-signal programmable SoC (PSoC 5), from Cypress Semiconductor. The system was tested under 60 Co gamma radiation with a dose rate of 1 krad(Si)/h reaching a total dose of 242 krad(Si). One of the system copies presented a significant degradation on its linearity during the irradiation, while the others kept the functionality with less severe degradation, evidencing the advantage of using diversity to improve resilience in mixed-signal redundant systems.
This work investigates the influence of alternate biasing on TID effects in mixed-signal programmable devices. By reducing the time the device is biased when exposed to ionizing radiation, the severity of TID effects is also reduced, due to the increasing in the initial recombination of electron-hole pairs and the radiation induced charge neutralization effect. These effects are investigated considering a switched capacitor filter prototyped in a Field Programmable Analog Array. Eight samples of such device were exposed to gamma radiation while the devices were alternately biased, by repeatedly turning the power on and off, corresponding to different equivalent total biasing times and duty-cycles. Results show increase in radiation tolerance to the alternate biased devices, which is dependent also on the biasing duty-cycle. Considering this behavior, a novel system level radiation hardening technique, based on modular redundancy, associated to an alternate biasing scheme, is also proposed in this paper.
