A methodology for identifying laser parameters for equivalent heavy-ion hits

Abstract

Pulsed lasers show excellent promise for single-event upset (SEU) studies in laboratory environments due to their simplicity of use. However, a one-to-one relationship between a laser hit and a heavy-ion hit has not been developed so far. With the assumption that the collected charge from a SEU hit dictates the circuit-level response, equivalency between a laser hit and heavy-ion hit can be established if the collected charge from both hits is identical. This paper presents a methodology to identify the equivalent laser characteristics for a heavy-ion hit by calculating the collected charge through device-level simulations. Such knowledge will enable SEU hardness assurance of circuits using lasers.