Single-Event Transients Evaluation of Emerging Point-of-Load Converters Using the New JPL Pico-Second Pulsed Laser System.

摘要

As demand for high-speed, on-board, digital-processing integrated circuits (ICs) on spacecraft increases (FPGAs and DSPs in particular), the need for the next generation of point-of-load (POL) regulators becomes a prominent design issue. Shrinking process nodes have resulted in core rails dropping to values close to 1.0 V, drastically reducing margin and increasing the impact of single-event transients (SETs) to POL regulators that power digital ICs. The goal of this task is to perform SET characterization of several emerging commercial POL converters and to provide a discussion of the impact of these results on state-of-the-art digital processing ICs through laser and heavy ion testing. This work is funded through the NASA Electronic Parts and Packaging Program (NEPP) and is performed in conjunction with NASA Goddard Space Flight Center s (GSFC) radiation effects and analysis group.