The article introduces a new approach for systemlevel observation during radiation testing which is based on the in-system monitoring of analog signals. The verification of the test method is performed using an example mixed-signal system, in which the sampled signals are the outputs of the Point-of-Load (PoL) power regulators. The collected data is then used to analyze the in-system performance of electronic components and establish the connection between system-level failures and device-level radiation-induced effects. Moreover, the contribution of SingleEvent Effects (SEEs) taking place in specific power converters to the overall system-level failure rate was determined. The presented analysis concerns the results of three test campaigns, where the designed observation approach was verified within different radiation environments.

The effect of total-ionizing-dose (TID) on device-to-device variability in 22 nm fully depleted silicon-on-insulator (FD-SOI) nMOS transistors was experimentally quantified. Across ten W/L geometries, two device types (RVT, LVT), and three irradiation-bias conditions (Off-Stress, Work-Mode, Power-Off), ensembles of N= 80 devices per geometry, 4800 transistors in total were irradiated to 300 krad(SiO2) and subsequently characterized. Pelgrom plots of Vth and the current-factor beta were analyzed. TID consistently shifted Vth negative and broadened its distribution while preserving the 1/(WL)(1/2) law; the extracted AVth increased by about 9%-47% depending on bias/type, with a robust ordering Off-Stress > Work-Mode > Power-Off. In contrast, beta exhibited near-zero mean drift and only modest variance growth (typically <= 20%), indicating a much weaker mobility-driven response. Size-segregated fits confirmed an area-dominated mechanism: small-area devices exhibited the largest variance increase, whereas large-area devices approached the measurement floor. A compact dose-aware Pelgrom model was established, adding a TID-dependent term to AVth that links the Poisson-distributed buried oxide (BOX) trapped charge and the bias-dependent electrostatic coupling, and captures the observed bias ordering and size scaling.

The qualification of space electronics increasingly relies on very-high-energy heavy ion (VHEHI) beams, which provide deep penetration and high linear energy transfer (LET), enabling realistic testing of complex, packaged commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) components or full boards. However, dosimetry at these energies remains challenging, and harmonized approaches across facilities are lacking. A dosimetry method combining energy deposition spectra measured by a commercial silicon detector with FLUKA Monte Carlo simulations was previously developed and benchmarked at CERN within the EU-funded HEARTS project. In this work, the method was validated through a systematic intercomparison of four leading VHEHI facilities: GSI, HIMAC, NSRL, and CERN. Across all facilities, a strong linear correlation between measured and simulated peak energy deposition values was consistently observed, demonstrating the robustness of the approach for reliable LET extraction. Facility-specific insights were obtained: accelerator energy variation is preferable to heavy degradation to minimize LET spread, heavier ions outperform degraded lighter ions, and CERN’s tailored lead-ion beams now provide LET coverage comparable to reference facilities. Complementary pulse-shape analysis further identified detector-related artifacts and allowed to refine the measured energy deposition spectra. This work establishes a validated framework for unified VHEHI dosimetry, supporting harmonization of test protocols and enabling reliable radiation effects qualification of next-generation space electronics with VHEHI beams in Europe and worldwide.

This work presents the results of several single-event effect (SEE) measurements (bit upsets, latch-up, and burn-out) performed in two SEE testing facilities, European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) and NASA Space Radiation Laboratory (NSRL) (100-1000 MeV/n), using high-energy heavy ions. The results are compared with those obtained at other SEE facilities using standard-energy ions, Radiation Effects Facility (RADEF), UCL, and GANIL (<50 MeV/n). The differences are studied, with a particular focus on the intrinsic features and differences of high-energy heavy ions, such as beam fragmentation and volume-equivalent LET.

The increasing use of COTS components in radiation environments, such as New Space missions and nuclear Decontamination and Decommissioning activities, raises new questions about system-level testing methodologies. In this work, the Total Ionizing Dose response of a motor board, designed as a model platform, is investigated to develop and compare system-level and component-level test approaches. The study relies on a modular board architecture and on the addition of dedicated monitoring parameters to enhance the level of board observability during irradiation. Component-level characterizations are conducted in parallel with system-level tests to identify the origins of degradation mechanisms and to evaluate their impact on overall system behavior. Moreover, a comparison is conducted between board-level irradiations performed with a filtered high energy X-ray generator and a Cobalt-60 gamma source. The results show that the use of combined Aluminum and Lead filtering with the high energy X-ray generator reproduces the degradation observed under Cobalt-60 more accurately than using an Aluminum filter alone, at both the component and board levels. Overall, the study highlights the benefits and limitations of system-level TID testing and demonstrates the relevance of combining system-level and component-level approaches when evaluating COTS-based electronic systems for radiation environments.

A physics-based ion track structure was successfully established for ions covering a wide linear energy transfer (LET) range applicable to single-event effect (SEE) simulations on power devices by modeling the power law profile, which was derived from Geant4 simulation with MicroElec extension. The collected charge in two different types of silicon carbide (SiC) diodes calculated by the device simulator ECORCE is in good agreement with the experimental results at the low bias condition.

This article explores the possibility of enhancing the capability of static random access memories (SRAMs) as heavy-ion beam detectors starting from the multiple-cell upsets (MCUs) measured in some well-characterized beams. In particular, the two main enablers brought by the MCU analysis are: 1) the determination of the beam flux even when the linear energy transfer (LET) of the beam is not known [whenever the LET is >10 MeV/(mg/cm(2))] and 2) the estimation of the LET of the heavy-ion beam without reliance on any other instrument. The methods designed to determine these quantities are explained in this article and are calibrated using well-characterized heavy-ion beams. They are then put to test in less-known heavy-ion beams. Overall, the flux estimation, which exploits the saturation of the coverage, that is, the ratio between MCU and beam fluence, instead of the unsaturated SEU cross section, can point out issues with beam calibration that can be corrected by the facility. The LET estimation, for which two different methods are proposed when compared to Monte-Carlo simulations, showed a general agreement with an uncertainty of similar to 3 MeV/(mg/cm(2)), which is acceptable for typical measurements in which the LET data points are spread by a larger range.

The article explores the design and radiation characterization of a wireless physical layer (PHY) specifically tailored for equipment control in harsh radiation environments, such as those in particle accelerators like the large hadron collider (LHC). The PHY, built with commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS), leverages a software-defined radio (SDR), which, compared to dedicated transceivers, provides more flexibility and enables enhanced reliability through mitigation techniques. It is designed for low latency to meet the sampling time requirements of current LHC control applications. The PHY is developed to be radiation-tolerant, capable of withstanding the LHC radiation environment. The article presents the radiation characterization of all system components using a 200-MeV proton beam. Experimental results show the link's robustness against total ionizing dose (TID) and single-event effects (SEEs), with no performance degradation due to SEEs and tolerance up to kGy of dose. Radiation-induced link losses were observed, and strategies to enhance link reliability were discussed.

A distributed dosimetry system based on phosphorus-doped optical fiber interrogated by an embedded Optical Time-Domain Reflectometer (OTDR) operated around 1610 nm is investigated for its performance, accuracy, repeatability and reliability in radiation environments corresponding to space applications. We analyzed the metrological properties of the system, showing an accuracy of +/- 6% on dose measurement using the minimum pulse width, and characterized the evolution of measurement uncertainty according to the sampling length. We demonstrated the system ability to measure Total Ionizing Dose under gamma- and X-rays, at four dose rates ranging from 5.8 mu Gy(SiO2)/s to 5038 mu Gy(SiO2)/s, and with doses up to 344 Gy(SiO2). Finally, the device reliability under 350 MeV and 480 MeV proton irradiation was tested. No Single-Event Latchups (SEL) have been observed up to a fluence of similar to 4.2x10(9) cm(-2) and the Single-Event Functional Interrupt (SEFI) cross-section was on the order of similar to 10(-8) cm(2), equivalent to similar to 11.5 days in low Earth Orbit.

This work introduces an innovative approach for estimating the Single-Event Upset (SEU) cross-sections in Static Random-Access Memory (SRAM) devices, addressing challenges related to limited technological information and the complexity of Technology Computer-Aided Design (TCAD) simulations. The proposed methodology is designed to be accessible even to users without in-depth TCAD expertise, enabling a streamlined yet accurate SEU cross-section estimation. Using simplified mixed-modeling (TCAD-based 2D modeling with circuit-level SPICE simulations), this approach significantly reduces computational efforts while maintaining good correlation with experimental data. Furthermore, this study identifies key parameters that influence TCAD modeling accuracy and proposes strategies for approximating unknown parameters, enhancing the reliability of SEU cross-section predictions.

System-level testing of electronics is an affordable method of assessment of the performance of complete electronic systems designed for applications in the radiation environment. Compared to component-level testing, system-level test offers a much smaller degree of observability about the performance of particular system elements. The information received during the irradiation of a system might be therefore not sufficient for the identification of every system under test (SUT) malfunction. As a consequence, no action might be taken to recover the system operation while certain parts of its functionality would be lost due to the radiation-induced effects. This can lead to the incorrect execution of the system-level test and improper conclusions about radiation-induced effects. The present paper demonstrates a method allowing an efficient identification of system-level failures based on the system total current consumption monitoring. The proposed technique can be easily implemented with common instrumentation and at the same time provides valuable feedback on SUT operation. The retrieved current consumption information can be used to identify system failures that may be not observable through the communication channels that are by default included in the tested setup. Furthermore, the posttest analysis can be performed on the collected data to investigate the SUT condition along the complete timeline of its irradiation. The verification of the proposed method was performed during the qualification test of a system designed for applications at the high-energy particle accelerator facility.

The single-event latch-up (SEL) cross section of a 16 nm bulk finFET programmable system-on-chip (SoC) is investigated by combining single-photon absorption (SPA) laser testing, emission microscopy (EMMI), and embedded instrumentation. The contributions of different SEL-sensitive areas identified by their current increase, light emission, and functional signatures are measured. The effect of temperature and IO bias is evaluated. The laser results show an excellent correlation with heavy ion data and delimit the origin of SEL in this device by excluding the occurrence of SEL in the core logic for this technology.

The CELESTA CubeSat has employed radiation monitors developed by the Conseil Europeeene pour la Recherche Nucleaire (CERN), used for measuring the radiation environment at accelerators, to measure the space radiation field in a medium-Earth orbit (MEO). The technology is based on three static random access memories (SRAMs) that are sensitive to single-event upsets (SEUs) and single-event latchups (SELs). The measurements were performed for the duration of 2 months. A statistically significant amount of SEUs and SELs were collected. No solar proton event effects were observed in the data during this period. The in-flight rates were compared with respect to estimations coming from the environmental space fluxes available in the Outil de Modelisation de l’Environmment Radiative Externe (OMERE) tool suite and ground facility measurements done with ions and protons. The analysis emphasizes the importance of employing more sophisticated satellite shielding models for the calculation of the fluxes reaching the detectors as well as the need to know accurately the proton energy threshold of the SEU cross section Weibull response of the devices. Both observations mainly arise from the peculiar spectral distribution of protons in this MEO peaking at 10-20 MeV, which differs from those of a low-Earth orbit environment.

This work explains that the Coulomb elastic process on the nucleus is a major source of single-event effects (SEE) for protons within the energy range of 1–10 MeV. The infinite range of Coulomb interactions implies an exceptionally high recoil probability. This research seeks to extend the investigations under which the elastic process becomes significant in the energy deposition process by providing a simplified methodology to evaluate the elastic contribution impact on the reliability of electronics. The goal is to derive a method to provide a simple way to calculate and predict the SEE cross-section. At very low energy, we observe a significant increase in the proton differential cross-section. The use of a direct Monte Carlo approach would mainly trigger low energy recoiling ions, and a very long calculation time would be necessary to observe the tail of the spectrum. In this sense, this work provides a simple methodology to calculate the SEE cross-section. The single-event upset (SEU) cross-section results demonstrate a good agreement with the experimental data in terms of shape and order of magnitude for different technological nodes.

We present and analyze system-level total ionizing dose (TID) tests of the simple analog system, point-of-load (PoL) dc/dc converter from 3D Plus, which was already qualified up to 50 krad(SiO2) based on component-level tests. TID response varied with the radiation facility for several parts; however, extensive testing with one part has shown significant differences in the TID level of functional failure observed for different operation modes (configurations): depending on the operating configuration of the device, the observed TID level of failure varies from about 60 krad(SiO2) to more than 400 krad(SiO2). These differences are depicted with the use of the safe operating area (SOA) plot for the system, which incorporates main system functional parameters. We also explore the potential utilization of the SOA concept in defining the system's TID performance, employing a range of TID thresholds rather than relying on a singular value.

The article presents the development of a Wireless Physical Layer (PHY) designed to extend CERN’s WorldFIP infrastructure, addressing the limitations of cabling within the LHC tunnel. This wireless PHY is based on a Software-Defined Radio (SDR) architecture that includes a Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) and a fully configurable RF front-end. Both components are selected for their radiation tolerance to ensure reliable performance in the LHC’s high-radiation environment. This solution allows for seamless integration into the existing WorldFIP network without the need for hardware upgrades, offering a flexible and scalable alternative to traditional cabling. The article details the design and implementation process of the PHY and evaluates its performance using actual CERN hardware. Additionally, the study examines the impact of radiation on the wireless link’s performance and explores potential improvements to enhance the system’s reliability within CERN’s control architecture.

Abstract The CHARM Radiation Tolerant FPGA Tester Board (CRaTeBo) is a FPGA testing platform for the CERN High-energy Accelerator (CHARM) irradiation facility. It is meant to ease the radiation testing of FPGA-based systems by providing users with a radiation-tolerant carrier card featuring an FPGA interface, a high-speed communication interface, a flexible power supply, and an HPC-FMC connector for additional front-end electronics. It is foreseen to be a permanent installation in the CHARM facility at CERN, giving users the possibility to carry out radiation tests of their system with minimum effort on the test setup development.

The integration of IoT infrastructure in the context of particle accelerators promises numerous benefits (reduced costs and maintenance time, increased deployment). However, the use of microcontroller units (MCUs), typical of IoT systems, can potentially compromise future accelerator availability performances. This paper presents Software Mitigation Schemes (SMS) designed to improve the availability performance of MCU-based systems under radiation. Their effectiveness is demonstrated through a radiation test on a CERN Wireless IoT Radiation Monitoring system, also called BatMon. The results underline the IoT devices' feasibility as a viable solution for high -distribution systems in the High -Luminosity Large Hadron Collider (HL-LHC) or Future Circular Collider (FCC).

This paper presents a wide-range body biasing technique for enhancing total ionizing dose (TID) robustness of analog integrated circuits (ICs) in 22nm fully depleted silicon-on-insulator (FD-SOI). A precise SPICE model has been developed to predict the behavior of MOSFETs under TID degradation, based on experimental results from X-ray irradiation tests on a test vehicle fabricated in 22nm FD-SOI. From the simulation in an electronic design automation (EDA) tool, the performance of a bootstrap switch and operational amplifier (OPAMP) with the proposed body biasing configuration exhibit strong TID irradiation robustness.

The use of a high energy X-ray generator for Total Ionizing Dose testing is studied on MOS capacitors. Several conditions were studied for the high energy X-ray irradiations (with aluminum and lead filters) and the experimental results are compared to Co-60 irradiations. The effects of both annealing and package lid are also studied. All the results are presented and discussed. It is shown that the simple BEOL stack (only one thin aluminum layer) has no effect on dose deposition in the oxide of MOS capacitors.