Soft Error Rate Reduction Using Circuit Optimization and Transient Filter Insertion

This paper describes a tunable transient filter (TTF) design for soft error rate reduction in combinational logic circuits. TTFs can be inserted into combinational circuits to suppress propagated single-event transients (SETs) before they can be captured in latches or flip-flops. TTFs are tuned by adjusting the maximum width of the propagated SET that can be suppressed. A TTF requires 6–14 transistors, making it an attractive cost-effective option to reduce the soft error rate in combinational circuits. A global optimization approach based on geometric programming that integrates TTF insertion with dual-VDD and gate sizing is described. Simulation results for the 65 nm process technology indicate that a 17–48× reduction in the soft error rate can be achieved with this approach.