5 Conclusion
It was demonstrated that the estimated upper limit of the SEU cross sections of the
atom switch for heavy ions was much smaller than the expected area of the
conductive bridge in the atom switch, regardless of the voltage applied to the switch.
So far there is no evidence of SEU vulnerability nor physical damage in the atom
switch, and thus we could conclude that the atom switch cell itself is an inherently
radiation-tolerant structure for SEU caused by heavy ions.
Other evaluations, such as for total ionizing dose(TID) and displacement damage
(DD) evaluations would be required to obtain further information. A technique for
hardening against radiation is thus necessary for conventional CMOS circuits, in
order to use the atom switch ROM and the CAS FPGA in space.
Acknowledgement The authors wish to gratefully acknowledge valuable assistance provided by
the members of the TIARA accelerator operation group at QST. The authors would also like to
thank Ryoei Technica Corp. for its technical support.
References
1. Van Allen, J.A., McIlwain, C.E., Ludwig, G.H.: Radiation observations with satellite 1958 ε.
J. Geophys. Res. 64(3), 271–286 (1959)
2. McIlwain, C.E.: Coordinates for mapping the distribution of magnetically trapped
particles. J. Geophys. Res. 66(11), 3681–3691 (1961)
3. SPENVIS—Space environment, effects, and education system. https://www.spenvis.oma.be/
4. Goka, T. et al.: Space Environment Risk Dictionary (2006)
5. Pellish, J.: Single-event and total dose testing for advanced electronics. IEEE NSREC short
course (2012)
6. Marshall Space Flight Center, NASA. https://solarscience.msfc.nasa.gov/SunspotCycle.shtml
7. Mewaldt, R.A.: Galactic cosmic ray composition and energy spectra. Adv. Space Res. 14(10),
737–747 (1994)
Fig. 13 Actual cell area
(dashed line) and estimated
SEU cross section (blue and
red down triangles for ROM
and red for FPGA,
respectively). Down
triangles represent each
estimated value that is
expected to be less than the
point in the figure
An Evaluation of Single Event Effects by Heavy Ion Irradiation on Atom. . .
71
It was demonstrated that the estimated upper limit of the SEU cross sections of the
atom switch for heavy ions was much smaller than the expected area of the
conductive bridge in the atom switch, regardless of the voltage applied to the switch.
So far there is no evidence of SEU vulnerability nor physical damage in the atom
switch, and thus we could conclude that the atom switch cell itself is an inherently
radiation-tolerant structure for SEU caused by heavy ions.
Other evaluations, such as for total ionizing dose(TID) and displacement damage
(DD) evaluations would be required to obtain further information. A technique for
hardening against radiation is thus necessary for conventional CMOS circuits, in
order to use the atom switch ROM and the CAS FPGA in space.
Acknowledgement The authors wish to gratefully acknowledge valuable assistance provided by
the members of the TIARA accelerator operation group at QST. The authors would also like to
thank Ryoei Technica Corp. for its technical support.
References
1. Van Allen, J.A., McIlwain, C.E., Ludwig, G.H.: Radiation observations with satellite 1958 ε.
J. Geophys. Res. 64(3), 271–286 (1959)
2. McIlwain, C.E.: Coordinates for mapping the distribution of magnetically trapped
particles. J. Geophys. Res. 66(11), 3681–3691 (1961)
3. SPENVIS—Space environment, effects, and education system. https://www.spenvis.oma.be/
4. Goka, T. et al.: Space Environment Risk Dictionary (2006)
5. Pellish, J.: Single-event and total dose testing for advanced electronics. IEEE NSREC short
course (2012)
6. Marshall Space Flight Center, NASA. https://solarscience.msfc.nasa.gov/SunspotCycle.shtml
7. Mewaldt, R.A.: Galactic cosmic ray composition and energy spectra. Adv. Space Res. 14(10),
737–747 (1994)
Fig. 13 Actual cell area
(dashed line) and estimated
SEU cross section (blue and
red down triangles for ROM
and red for FPGA,
respectively). Down
triangles represent each
estimated value that is
expected to be less than the
point in the figure
An Evaluation of Single Event Effects by Heavy Ion Irradiation on Atom. . .
71