High reliability FPGAs complete 26 million device-hours of FPGA reliability testing

July 18, 2012 // Paul Buckley

Microsemi Corporation has completed reliability testing of Microsemi's commercial-grade Axcelerator FPGAs. The tests lasted more than four years with an accumulated total of more than 26 million device-hours of testing without a single antifuse failure.

Microsemi's Axcelerator FPGAs are the commercial equivalent of Microsemi's space-flight RTAX-S/SL FPGAs and share the same CMOS structures, antifuse technology, materials, processing, dimensions and programming attributes. The RTAX-S/SL FPGAs are also radiation-tolerant and include flip-flops protected against radiation-induced upsets by built-in triple-module redundancy (TMR).     

The testing process involved programming parts with a stringent design featuring excellent observability of failure mechanisms prior to the start of the tests. In addition, the tests included a combination of high temperature operating life (HTOL), low temperature operating life (LTOL) and temperature cycle tests.     
Microsemi's RTAX-S/SL radiation-tolerant FPGAs are specifically designed for space applications using highly reliable and non-volatile antifuse technology, which, unlike SRAM FPGAs, does not require costly and complex mitigation to prevent configuration upsets induced by radiation. They are offered in densities of up to 4 million equivalent system gates and 840 user I/Os.

Additional features include hot-swap and cold-sparing capabilities. For space applications that have a need for lower standby current, Microsemi RTAX-SL FPGAs have less than half the standby current of the standard product at worst-case conditions.      

Visit Microsemi at www.microsemi.com

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