RADJAM: A Novel Approach for Reduction of Soft Errors in Logic Circuits

Abstract

The task of achieving reliability against transient faults poses a significant challenge due to technology scaling trends. Several optimization techniques have been proposed in the literature for preventing soft errors in logic circuits. However, most approaches for avoiding soft errors in logic circuits have significant overheads in terms of delay, area or power. In this work, we propose a circuit level technique called RADJAM (RADiation JAMmer) to prevent soft errors, occurring due to radiation strikes, in logic cells. The RADJAM circuit when inserted at the output of a logic can reduce the generation of transient glitches significantly. Further, we propose an algorithm to insert RADJAM cells on selective nodes in a logic circuit. The algorithm uses signal logic probabilities and circuit slack for insertion of RADJAM cells on circuit nodes, thus improving the reliability of the logic circuit with minimal impact on the overall circuit delay. The proposed algorithm has been implemented and validated on the ISCAS85 benchmarks. Experimental results indicate that RADJAM optimized logic circuits can reduce soft error rates by around 39% with marginal delay, area and power overheads.