Do Radiation and Aging Impact DVFS? TCAD-based Analysis on 22 nm FDSOI Latches

Fully Depleted Silicon On Insulator (FDSOI) technology, which combines advanced high-frequency performance with CMOS energy efficiency, is ideally suited for automotive microcontrollers. However, as FDSOI technology scales down, its susceptibility to radiation effects and Negative Bias Temperature Instability (NBTI) increases, raising concerns about functional safety and system reliability throughout the life cycle. Radiation is known to cause failures, but the mechanism is not always the same. Bit flips in memories and latches are one well-understood mechanism, another less studied is the influence of radiation on the timing of latches. In this paper, we examine this phenomenon along with the effects of circuit aging and show how it affects timing margins in circuits. We also explore the voltage/frequency tradeoffs, commonly used to control power consumption, which can be used as a mitigation measure.