Heavy Ion-Induced Faults on Programmable UART Controllers Embedded into SRAM-Based FPGA

This study explores the dependability of three versions of a UART controller integrated into an SRAM-based FPGA developed by NanoXplore, focusing on their performance under single event effects. The objective is to identify the most robust design options suitable for incorporation into small satellite projects. Employing a dedicated methodology, the FPGA underwent irradiation with silicon ions at a particle accelerator. The findings indicate that designs featuring internal queues exhibit lower reliability in the presence of radiation-induced faults, while those incorporating EDAC-protected queues mitigate this issue.