1 vanderbilt university, nashville, tn 2 navsea crane, crane, in
DESCRIPTION
The Effect of Voltage Fluctuations on the Single Event Transient Response of Deep Submicron Digital Circuits. Matthew J. Gadlage 1,2 , Ronald D. Schrimpf 1 , Balaji Narasimham 1 , Bharat L. Bhuva 1 , Paul H. Eaton 3 , and Joseph M. Benedetto 4. 1 Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
2007 MURI Review
The Effect of Voltage Fluctuations on the Single Event Transient Response of Deep
Submicron Digital Circuits
Matthew J. Gadlage 1,2, Ronald D. Schrimpf 1, Balaji Narasimham1, Bharat L. Bhuva1, Paul H. Eaton3, and Joseph M. Benedetto4
1 Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN2 NAVSEA Crane, Crane, IN3 Microelectronics Research and Development Corporation, Albuquerque, NM4 Microelectronics Research and Development Corporation, Colorado Springs, CO
June 15, 20072007 MURI Review 2
Outline• How will voltage
fluctuations affect single event transients pulse widths?
• Data from two unique test chips will be presented
• Simulations along with a simple model will be used to explain the experimental results
[1] Harris, D.; Naffziger, S., "Statistical clock skew modeling with data delay variations," IEEE Transactions on Very Large Scale Integration (VLSI) Systems, vol.9, no.6, pp. 888-898, Dec 2001.
June 15, 20072007 MURI Review 3
Motivation
[2] Ajami, et. al., "Analysis of IR-drop scaling withimplications for deep submicron P/G network designs," Fourth International Symposium on Quality Electronic Design, 2003, pp. 35-40.
• Voltage drops in advanced CMOS devices are a major concern among circuit designers
• Mostly due to simple IR drops
• Expected to become a more significant issue as technologies scale [2]
June 15, 20072007 MURI Review 4
Background
•The probability of a digital single event transient (DSET) causing an upset depends on its width
•Delay based circuit techniques have been developed to eliminate DSETs
•Heavy ion induced SET pulse widths in advanced technologies can be as wide as 1 ns Illustration Detailing the Significance of SET Pulse Widths [3]
[3] Mavis, D.G., Eaton, P.H., ”Soft error rate mitigation techniques for modern microcircuits,” Reliability Physics Symposium Proceedings, 2002. Pages: 216-225.
June 15, 20072007 MURI Review 5
Two DSET Test Chips
DICE (Dual Interlocked Cell) Test Chip
•Consists of a chain of DICE latches with inverters between each latch
• Immune to static upsets
•All upsets with this device are due to SETs
SET Measurement Test Chip
•SETs are induced in a large target circuit of inverters
•To be described in more detail…
•This device measures the SET pulse width
• Both devices were fabricated on a 130 nm IBM technology through MOSIS
• Heavy ion testing was performed at Lawrence Berkeley National Labs
June 15, 20072007 MURI Review 6
Two DSET Test Chips
DICE (Dual Interlocked Cell) Test Chip
•Consists of a chain of DICE latches with inverters between each latch
• Immune to static upsets
•All upsets with this device are due to SETs
SET Measurement Test Chip
•SETs are induced in a large target circuit of inverters
•To be described in more detail…
•This device measures the SET pulse width
• Both devices were fabricated on a 130 nm IBM technology through MOSIS
• Heavy ion testing was performed at Lawrence Berkeley National Labs
June 15, 20072007 MURI Review 7
DICE Chip Data
DICE Chip Data at an LET of 68 MeV-cm2/mg
130 nm DICE Chip Schematic
• Significant increase in cross section from 2V to 1V
• Average SET width increases with decreasing voltage
1.0 V
1.2 V
1.5 V
2.0 V
June 15, 20072007 MURI Review 8
SET Pulse Width Measurement Chip
Latch Latch Latch Latch Latch
CONTROL SIGNAL
nth stageTarget Circuit – array of
inverters/NAND/NOR
Autonomous or self-triggered
SET pulse measurement
• SET width measured in units of inverter delays
• Target circuit separate from measurement circuit
• Trigger signal is actually taken from first stage (shown here as nth stage for clarity) and delayed in time to allow SET pulse to propagate down the measurement circuit stages
• Target circuit – array of inverters – as they produce long transients with little attenuation
June 15, 20072007 MURI Review 9
SET Pulse Width Measurement Data
• Slight variations in voltage result in a wide variation in SET pulse widths
• An ~8% decrease in VDD created a ~33% increase in the SET pulse width
• An increase in SET width will result in a proportional increase in the error cross section in the combinational logic of a circuit
Supply Voltage (V)
1.05 1.10 1.15 1.20 1.25
Ave
. SE
T P
ulse
Wid
th (p
s)
400
500
600
700
800
900
LET = 31 MeV-cm2/mgLET = 58 MeV-cm2/mg
Supply Voltage (V)
1.05 1.10 1.15 1.20 1.25
Ave
. SE
T P
ulse
Wid
th (p
s)
400
500
600
700
800
900
LET = 31 MeV-cm2/mgLET = 58 MeV-cm2/mg
SET Pulse Width Measurements vs. Supply Voltage
June 15, 20072007 MURI Review 10
SPICE Simulations
Voltage (V)
1 2
Pu
lse
Wid
th (
ns)
0
1
2 0.13 um IBM
• Input was a constant double exponential current pulse
• Varied the supply voltage
• Measured the SET width after10 inverters
• ~3X increase in SET width from2V to 1V
• A few tenths of volt can changethe SET width significantly
Strike Here
Measure SET Width Here
Below OperatingSpec.
June 15, 20072007 MURI Review 11
Near the SET Threshold…
Voltage (V)
1.10 1.12 1.14 1.16 1.18 1.20
Pul
se W
idth
(ps)
0
100
200
300
400
0.13 um IBM
Voltage (V)
1.10 1.12 1.14 1.16 1.18 1.20
Pul
se W
idth
(ps)
0
100
200
300
400
0.13 um IBM
• SET threshold is the smallest LET at which a transient will be created
• An IR drop of only a few mVs can change the threshold value
• The SET threshold in a modern device may be near that of an alpha particle
SPICE Simulation Near the SET Threshold
June 15, 20072007 MURI Review 12
MOSFET RC Model
RC
)(
1
TVVR
DD
Lower VDD => Larger Time Constant => Slower Circuit => Longer Transients
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5
Voltage (V)
Pu
lse
Wid
th (
ns)
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
RC
Tim
e C
on
sta
nt
(Arb
. U
nit
s)
MOSFET Resistance
Time Constant
June 15, 20072007 MURI Review 13
Implications
[1] Harris, D.; Naffziger, S., "Statistical clock skew modeling with data delay variations," IEEE Transactions on Very Large Scale Integration (VLSI) Systems, vol.9, no.6, pp. 888-898, Dec 2001.
•Took an extreme case of IR dropfrom a microprocessor [1]
•Plotted the supply voltage variationas a function of die location at a given time
•The approximate pulse width fromthe SET measurement chip isshown in each contour region
•Different locations on a die can have different SET pulse widths (or different error cross sections)
600 ps600 ps
600 ps
800 ps800 ps
> 1 ns?
June 15, 20072007 MURI Review 14
Conclusions
• Data from two unique test chips were presented to illustrate the effect of voltage fluctuations
• Small variations in voltage can significantly increase single event transient pulse widths
• Has the potential to become a more significant issue as devices continue to scale