Reliability challenges in avionics due to silicon aging

Abstract

Today's aviation systems are strongly dependent on electronics. Avionics (i.e., aviation electronics) should be highly reliable due to the nature of their applications. CMOS technology, which is widely used in the fabrication of integrated circuits, is continuously scaled to achieve higher performance and higher integration density (i.e., the wellknown Moore's law). This scaling property creates new challenges in reliability of avionics. As an example, the aging process is speeded up resulting in shorter time to wear-out. This paper investigates reliability challenges in design of avionics caused by silicon aging. It is shown that in the circuits and systems designed in modern CMOS technology, aging phenomenon have to be considered as a serious concern.

LDMOS Channel Thermometer Based on a Thermal Resistance Sensor for Balancing Temperature in Monolithic Power ICs

“…Based on the studies in [25,26], the lifetime can be predicted according to the temperature acceleration model as follows. $A{F}_T=\frac{{\tau }_{OP}}{{\tau }_S}=e^{\frac{E_a}{k} \times \left(\frac{1}{T_{OP}}-\frac{1}{T_S}\right)}$ where AF T is the temperature acceleration factor.…”

“…This paper shows that the equalized temperature in eight banks of power MOS. Based on the studies in [ 25 , 26 ], the lifetime can be predicted according to the temperature acceleration model as follows. where AF T is the temperature acceleration factor.…”

Dependable Multicore Architectures at Nanoscale: The View From Europe

“…Aging (temporal variation), leads to variation in behavior of a circuit over its lifetime, t > 0. Bias Temperature Instability (BTI), Hot Carrier Injection (HCI) and Time-Dependent Dielectric Breakdown (TDDB) are three main degradation phenomena [16], [17]. When the transistor is negatively (positively) biased, traps are generated at the silicon to dielectric interface and also inside the dielectric of PMOS (NMOS) transistors leading to an increase in the threshold voltage of transistor.…”

“…However, after the introduction of high-k dielectrics in highly scaled logic devices, TDDB is an even more severe issue because of the breakdown of the interfacial layer as well as the high-k layer. Another aging issue which affects interconnect is electromigration [17]. It is caused by physical migration of atoms in a metal wire, when the current flows through the wire for a long time.…”