The SEE Threat

The SEE Threat

SEE (a.k.a. soft/hard errors) has recently become generally recognised as the dominant threat to the reliability of electronic systems as is demonstrated by the following quotes from leading electronic design journalists:

“Soft errors - which are induced by cosmic rays, alpha particles, and thermal neutrons - increasingly dominate IC reliability at nanometer geometries.” David Maliniak, Electronic Design Online, 3/2/2005, http://www.elecdesign.com/Articles/Index.cfm?AD=1&ArticleID=9529 

“SEEs (single-event effects), such as soft errors, have since the early 1980s appeared in commercial electronics, but they are now becoming the dominant reliability-failure mechanism in modern CMOS technologies.” Michael Santarini, Senior Editor – Electronic Design Strategy News, 5/12/2005, http://www.edn.com/article/CA529381.html 

SEEDER is innovating by devising and demonstrating novel designs and design techniques to mitigate SEE and by defining methodologies for the balanced application of such design techniques, because it is crucial that SEE protection should not be overdone. 

Advances in electronics are throwing up challenging new SEE problems. SEE is becoming a threat to a broad range of UK industrial sectors including those outside the aerospace industry. SEE is emerging ever more clearly as the leading and most intractable threat to the reliability of electronic systems. It is one of several problems that are threatening to make further shrinkage of microchips impractical and could possibly cause the end of Moore’s Law. SEE problems must be solved or mitigated in order to maintain confidence in high reliability electronic systems. SEEDER’s TSB support is key to maintaining a coordinated approach, especially because of the range and diversity of the impact of SEE.

For SEE related content produced during the SPAESRANE project click here...