Methodology of Soft Error Rate Computation in Modern Microelectronics

Compact Modeling and Simulation of Heavy Ion Induced Soft Error Rate in Space Environment: Principles and Validation

“…where M is the total memory cell number,     is the LETdependent cross section of single bit upsets (SBU) per a bit, averaged over the full solid angle [15],  (Λ) is the heavy ion LET omnidirectional spectrum. In fact, the phenomenological cross section notion, underlying the general formula (3), is experimentally determined as the response of the whole circuit followed by a formal (and logically optional) normalization to a single cell.…”

Multiple Cell Upset Cross-Section Uncertainty in Nanoscale Memories: Microdosimetric Approach

“…The introduction of the critical charge concept for memory cell C  implies, in fact, a use of the microdosimetric approach to the calculation of the upset cross-sections and rates. It was shown in [8,9] that soft error rate (SER) can be represented as an average over the distribution of the chords lengths in the sensitive volume and over the LET spectrum of space environment. This approach is equivalent to the CREME96 ideology, which, in essence, is also based on the microdosimetric concept.…”

“…Following a general approach proposed in [9] one can represent the dependence of mean MCU cross-section on LET as a superposition of the step response functions averaged over energy-loss straggling distribution (see Appendix D)   …”

“…Generally, an average energy deposition at such low magnitudes turns out to be of the same order as energy-loss fluctuations (straggling) [6]. Role of straggling in SEE were discussed also in [7,8,9,10]. The physical reason for importance of straggling in highly-scaled ICs stems from the fact that typical magnitude of energy transfer in elementary interaction between ion and electrons (~ tens of keV ) turns out to be greater than the cell's critical energy.…”

Temperature control system for the study of single event effects in integrated circuits using a cyclotron accelerator

“…The topological sizes of the elements of modern integrated circuits are less than 100 nm. Therefore, hard ion impact is a critical issue that should be considered for the correct estimation of the reliability of integrated circuits during space missions [1][2][3][4][5]. Local radiation effects are the most dangerous because hard ions are able to generate a relatively large amount of charge as they pass through the constituents of the microcircuits.…”