Chip lifecycle / Space lifecycle / Hardened Design & Implementation

Hardened Design & Implementation

Writing the RTL and the analog circuits with their mitigation in place: triplicated or hardened storage elements, protected state machines, memory protection and scrubbing logic, hardened analog structures, and the checks that synthesis and optimisation have not removed redundancy the mitigation depends on.

Where this stage sits

This stage with its neighbours. Each row is a discipline active here, shaded by how mature its work is by the end of each stage.

Stage

^A03 Architecture & Radiation Mitigation Design

^D04 Hardened Design & ImplementationYou are here

^A05 Verification & Fault Injection

Product, assurance and supply milestones

Chip and radiation milestones

HATR1Hardening approach approved AAMitigation architecture approved DFHardened design freeze FITR2Fault injection sign-off

Product and customer program management^A

0.3

0.5

Product assurance and quality^A

0.3

0.5

Export control and trade compliance^A

0.3

0.5

Radiation effects engineering^A

0.5

0.8

Architecture and mitigation^A

0.5

0.8

1.0

Hardened digital design^D

0.5

0.8

1.0

Analog and mixed-signal hardening^A

0.5

0.8^A

1.0

Verification and fault injection^A

0.5

0.8

1.0

Physical design and radiation sign-off^A

0.3

0.5

0.8

Test and screening programs^A

0.3

0.5

0.8

Package and assembly^A

0.3

0.5

Silicon validation and characterisation^A

Qualification and screening^A

0.0

Long-term supply and obsolescence^A

0.0

0.3

Key0.0Planned0.3Early draft0.5Draft0.8Feature complete1.0CompleteFreezeFrozenFaded block: still at the step shown before it, Held below Complete or Maintained under change control once complete or frozenFreeze or sign-off pointMilestone for one item; the rest of the work carries onMilestone gateTRTechnical readiness review (TR): a gate that checks the technology is ready before the next commitment.You are here: Hardened Design & ImplementationAI impactDisruption (red)Augmentation (blue)Opportunity (green)How AI is changing the workWhat the steps mean What the codes mean

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Stages

Architecture & Radiation Mitigation Design^A
Hardened Design & Implementation (this stage)^D
Verification & Fault Injection^A

Product, assurance and supply milestones

Chip and radiation milestones

Hardening approach approved (HA) (technical readiness review TR1)
Mitigation architecture approved (AA)
Hardened design freeze (DF)
Fault injection sign-off (FI) (technical readiness review TR2)

Disciplines

Product and customer program management^A
- Architecture & Radiation Mitigation Design: maturity 0.3, Early draft. Program plan and budget set for the chosen hardening approach, with radiation test campaigns, facility time, screening and qualification built in.
- Hardened Design & Implementation: maturity 0.5, Draft. Program tracked against the plan through design and tape-out, with engineering model allocation and lead customers lined up.
- Verification & Fault Injection: maturity 0.5, Draft. Program tracked against the plan through design and tape-out, with engineering model allocation and lead customers lined up.
Product assurance and quality^A
- Architecture & Radiation Mitigation Design: maturity 0.3, Early draft. Parts, materials and processes list started on the chosen technology, and the procurement specification outlined.
- Hardened Design & Implementation: maturity 0.5, Draft. Design reviews and derating checks closed at the design freeze, with nonconformances tracked.
- Verification & Fault Injection: maturity 0.5, Draft. Design reviews and derating checks closed at the design freeze, with nonconformances tracked.
Export control and trade compliance^A
- Architecture & Radiation Mitigation Design: maturity 0.3, Early draft. Design data and foreign access controlled under the plan, with the classification checked against the hardening and technology choices.
- Hardened Design & Implementation: maturity 0.5, Draft. Classification checked against the frozen design and its performance, with the controls on design data kept current.
- Verification & Fault Injection: maturity 0.5, Draft. Classification checked against the frozen design and its performance, with the controls on design data kept current.
Radiation effects engineering^A
- Architecture & Radiation Mitigation Design: maturity 0.5, Draft. Dose and displacement damage budget set against the mitigation architecture, with first single-event rate predictions.
- Hardened Design & Implementation: maturity 0.8, Feature complete. Predictions updated on the frozen design and the fault injection results, with the hardness assurance plan ready for test.
- Verification & Fault Injection: maturity 0.8, Feature complete. Predictions updated on the frozen design and the fault injection results, with the hardness assurance plan ready for test.
Architecture and mitigation^A
- Architecture & Radiation Mitigation Design: maturity 0.5, Draft. Mitigation architecture approved: redundancy, error correction, scrubbing and recovery set per function, with a first derating analysis.
- Hardened Design & Implementation: maturity 0.8, Feature complete. Derating analysis final against the single-event predictions, and the mitigation checked in the frozen design.
- Verification & Fault Injection: maturity 1.0, Complete. Mitigation shown to work by the fault injection campaigns at sign-off, with any gaps closed or waived.
Hardened digital design^D
- Architecture & Radiation Mitigation Design: maturity 0.5, Draft. Hardened library and IP list final, and RTL with mitigation under way against the mitigation architecture.
- Hardened Design & Implementation: maturity 0.8, Feature complete. RTL with mitigation feature complete and frozen at the design freeze, with the mitigation insertion report; only reviewed fixes from here.; RTL freeze (milestone for one item)
- Verification & Fault Injection: maturity 1.0, Complete. Frozen RTL verified, with the fault injection campaigns passed on it at sign-off.
Analog and mixed-signal hardening^A
- Architecture & Radiation Mitigation Design: maturity 0.5, Draft. Analog hardening guidelines final, with the hardened analog blocks under design.
- Hardened Design & Implementation: maturity 0.8, Feature complete. Analog blocks designed and reviewed at the design freeze, with transient and dose simulations reported.^A
- Verification & Fault Injection: maturity 1.0, Complete. Analog blocks signed off across dose and single-event transient corners with the fault injection sign-off.
Verification and fault injection^A
- Architecture & Radiation Mitigation Design: maturity 0.5, Draft. Verification plan with fault injection drafted against the mitigation architecture, with the testbench, checkers and fault models being built.
- Hardened Design & Implementation: maturity 0.8, Feature complete. Verification plan final and the environment running on the frozen RTL, with fault campaigns and coverage closing.
- Verification & Fault Injection: maturity 1.0, Complete. Coverage and fault injection campaigns closed on the frozen design, with the verification and fault injection reports signed off.
Physical design and radiation sign-off^A
- Architecture & Radiation Mitigation Design: maturity 0.3, Early draft. Floorplan feasibility and radiation layout rules outlined: die size, spacing between redundant copies, and well and substrate contacts.
- Hardened Design & Implementation: maturity 0.5, Draft. Floorplan with radiation spacing rules set on the frozen design, with implementation started.
- Verification & Fault Injection: maturity 0.8, Feature complete. Placement, routing and timing closing at end-of-life dose corners, with radiation spacing checks running.
Test and screening programs^A
- Architecture & Radiation Mitigation Design: maturity 0.3, Early draft. Test strategy outlined with the architecture: scan, memory self-test and the access radiation testing needs.
- Hardened Design & Implementation: maturity 0.5, Draft. Test strategy final at the design freeze, with test structures inserted into each design drop.
- Verification & Fault Injection: maturity 0.8, Feature complete. Test patterns generated on the signed-off design and the first test program written for tape-out.
Package and assembly^A
- Architecture & Radiation Mitigation Design: maturity 0.3, Early draft. Package selected for the mission: type, hermeticity, materials and pin count.
- Hardened Design & Implementation: maturity 0.5, Draft. Package design and bond diagram drafted against the floorplan, with materials checked against the parts list.
- Verification & Fault Injection: maturity 0.5, Draft. Package design and bond diagram drafted against the floorplan, with materials checked against the parts list.
Silicon validation and characterisation^A
- Architecture & Radiation Mitigation Design: maturity 0.0, Planned. Validation lead named, and the benches, temperature equipment and boards estimated for the chosen technology and hardening approach; no validation plan yet.
- Hardened Design & Implementation: maturity 0.3, Early draft. Validation plan outlined from the architecture and the verification plan: what to measure, and across which temperatures and voltages.
- Verification & Fault Injection: maturity 0.5, Draft. Validation boards, bench set-up and bring-up scripts designed.
Radiation testing^A
- Hardened Design & Implementation: maturity 0.0, Planned. Radiation test lead named, and the dose and single-event campaigns, facilities and beam time estimated with the radiation effects lead; no test approach yet.
- Verification & Fault Injection: maturity 0.3, Early draft. Radiation test approach outlined from the hardness assurance plan, with facility time requested.
Qualification and screening^A
- Verification & Fault Injection: maturity 0.0, Planned. Qualification lead named, and the qualification framework, lots and test durations the procurement specification calls for estimated; no screening flow yet.
Long-term supply and obsolescence^A
- Architecture & Radiation Mitigation Design: maturity 0.0, Planned. Supply life of the candidate technologies assessed and the supply continuity approach agreed.
- Hardened Design & Implementation: maturity 0.3, Early draft. Supply continuity options outlined: wafer and die banking, and second sources for package and materials.
- Verification & Fault Injection: maturity 0.3, Early draft. Supply continuity options outlined: wafer and die banking, and second sources for package and materials.

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