Accelerator validation of an FPGA SEU simulator

An accelerator test was used to validate the performance of an FPGA single event upset (SEU) simulator. The Crocker Nuclear Laboratory cyclotron proton accelerator was used to irradiate the SLAAC1-V, a Xilinx Virtex FPGA board. We also used the SLAAC1-V as the platform for a configuration bitstream SEU simulator. The simulator was used to probe the "sensitive bits" in various logic designs. The objective of the accelerator experiment was to characterize the simulator's ability to predict the behavior of a test design in the proton beam during a dynamic test. The test utilized protons at 63.3 MeV, well above the saturation cross-section for the Virtex part. Protons were chosen because, due to their lower interaction rate, we can achieve the desired upset rate of about one configuration bitstream upset per second. The design output errors and configuration upsets were recorded during the experiment and compared to results from the simulator. In summary, for an extensively tested design, the simulator predicted 97% of the output errors observed during radiation testing. The SEU simulator can now be used with confidence to quickly and affordably examine logic designs to 'map' sensitive bits, to provide assurance that incorporated mitigation techniques perform correctly, and to evaluate the costs and benefits of various mitigation strategies. The simulator provides an excellent test environment that accurately represents radiation induced configuration bitstream upsets.