Microchip RTG4 Radiation Tolerant FPGAs

RTG4 Radiation-Tolerant FPGAs

RTG4 FPGAs integrate Microsemi’s fourth-generation flash-based FPGA fabric and high-performance interfaces such as serialization/deserialization (SERDES) on a single chip while maintaining the resistance to radiation-induced configuration upsets in the harshest radiation environments, such as space flight (LEO, MEO, GEO, HEO, deep space); high altitude aviation, medical electronics, and nuclear power plant control.

Radiation Performance

RTG4 FPGAs are immune to radiation-induced changes in configuration, due to the robustness of the flash cells used to connect and configure logic resources and routing tracks. No background scrubbing or reconfiguration of the FPGA is needed in order to mitigate changes in configuration due to radiation effects. Data errors, due to radiation, are mitigated by hardwired SEU resistant flip-flops in the logic cells and in the mathblocks. Single Error Correct Double Error Detect (SECDED) protection is optional for the embedded SRAM (LSRAM and uSRAM) and the DDR memory controllers. This means that if a one-bit error is detected, it will be corrected. Errors of more than one bit are detected only and not corrected. SECDED error signals are brought to the FPGA fabric to allow the user to monitor the status of these protected internal memories. Here is a summary of RTG4 FPGAs radiation performance:

Reliability and Qualification

RTG4 FPGAs are manufactured on a low power 65nm process with substantial reliability heritage. RTG4 CG/LG-1657 packages FPGAs are now qualified to QML Class V qualification. Our new RTG4 CQFP-352 FPGAs are now qualified to QML Class Q Qualification and currently seeking QML Class V Qualification. Refer to this reference guide for the equivalent Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) part number to Microsemi’s part number.