Chip lifecycle / Space lifecycle / Radiation Testing: Total Dose, Single Events & Displacement Damage / Stage guide

Radiation Testing: Total Dose, Single Events & Displacement Damage: stage guide

How the part's real radiation response is measured: total ionising dose with parameters measured before, during and after exposure, single-event testing with heavy ions and protons for upsets, transients, interrupts and latch-up, displacement damage where relevant, then comparison with predictions and agreement of the hardness level. Radiation effects engineers, test teams and product assurance use it.

1. Purpose and scope

Radiation testing is the stage a commercial chip does not have. It replaces predictions with measurements on the actual part. Total dose testing exposes parts to a dose source in steps, measuring parameters between steps or in situ, often with anneal steps afterwards. Single-event testing places parts in heavy ion and proton beams at specialist facilities and logs every upset, transient, functional interrupt and latch-up against the beam conditions. Displacement damage testing is added where the technology is sensitive.

The results are compared with the requirement and the predictions, and the hardness level the part will be supplied to is agreed. Where a result falls short, the options are recorded: shielding, derating, system-level mitigation by the customer, a lower hardness level with a deviation, or redesign.

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