Analysis of root causes of alpha sensitivity variations on microprocessors manufactured using different cell layouts

This paper reports and analyzes the results of alpha radiation testing campaigns on an embedded microprocessor manufactured with different standard cell libraries, each one enforcing Design for Manufacturing rules at a specific level. A set of analog simulations has been performed on flip-flops built with different physical layouts to reproduce and evaluate the effects of ionizing particles. The results of simulation experiments are presented and discussed, highlighting the configurations which are more likely to improve the system reliability, and then compared with radiation experiments data. Finally, we give a physical interpretation of the observed variations on radiation sensitivity.