Speaker
Description
The use of pulsed laser for pre-screening COTS parts to SEEs, and more specifically to Single Event Latchup, is beneficial because of the reduced cost and greater availability this method provides, as compared to heavy ions. At TRAD, pulsed Laser is mainly used for this purpose: evaluating part sensitivities to SEEs, prior to heavy ion testing, in order to reject the most sensitive ones, thus reducing the beamtime required for qualification.
In the frame of a study motivated by CNES in 2022-2023, a cross-comparison of laser and heavy ion results on the sensitivity of 12 COTS parts to latchup was performed. A very good correspondence was obtained between both methods and a methodology for quickly classifying part’s sensitivities to SEL based on laser test results was developed. Results of this study were presented at RADECS 2023 [1].
The test methodology developed was implemented in 2023-2024 in many cases. Through several laser tests at different pulse energies, sensitivities of parts are classified into different categories, in order to identify the most and less sensitive parts. This methodology will be presented, as well as the lessons learned from the first implementation of this method for industrial purposes. This method will also be illustrated with the work performed through a collaboration with U-SPACE company. More than 35 devices were evaluated under Laser and their sensitivity were classified, for U-SPACE to select the best references for their design. A Laser test on the final design is also planned, to verify the criticality of soft errors on the availability of the equipment.
[1] Review of Alternatives to Heavy Ions Broad Beam for SEL Screening of COTS, S. Dubos et al., presented at RADECS 2023
