COTS Radiation-Tolerant Circuit Architecture With Diverse TMR Shielding
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Solution Overview
Problem
Electronic systems in high radiation environments, such as nuclear power plants, face challenges due to the degradation of semiconductor components and the vulnerability of radiation-hardened systems to single event effects and cumulative radiation exposure, leading to potential system failures.
Innovation Solution
A radiation-tolerant electronic system architecture utilizing commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) components with triple modular redundancy, diverse semiconductor technologies, and multi-layer shielding, along with online fault detection and reconfiguration mechanisms to maintain operation in high radiation conditions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If rad-hardened components are used to withstand radiation, then reliability in radiation environments is improved, but device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements triple modular redundancy by creating three identical copies of the same circuit module. Each module is a replica that can independently perform the required function, allowing the system to tolerate radiation-induced failures in one or two modules while maintaining operation through the remaining functional modules.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the operational parameters by introducing voting logic that dynamically determines system output based on the state of redundant modules. The system transitions from a single-point-failure architecture to a multi-state system where the functional output is determined by majority voting among redundant components, effectively changing how the system responds to radiation damage.
2Reliability
If triple modular redundancy is implemented to detect and correct radiation errors, then reliability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the system into three independent functional modules, each capable of autonomous operation. This segmentation allows the system to isolate radiation-induced failures to specific modules without affecting the entire system, as each module processes information independently and contributes to the final output through voting logic.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements preliminary redundancy by pre-configuring three identical modules before radiation exposure occurs. This preliminary action ensures that backup capacity is already in place and can immediately take over if radiation damage affects one or two modules, eliminating the need for complex real-time reconfiguration.
3Reliability
If diverse TMR is used to reduce common mode faults, then reliability is improved, but device complexity and manufacturing difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the diversity parameter from hardware implementation to operational configuration. All three modules use the same hardware design and manufacturing process, but they are configured to operate with different input data streams or processing sequences, creating functional diversity that reduces common mode faults without complicating manufacturing.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for selecting components in a radiation tolerant electronic system, comprising, determining ionizing radiation responses of COTS devices under various radiation conditions, selecting a subset of the COTS devices whose radiation responses satisfy threshold radiation levels, applying mathematical models of the COTS devices for post-irradiation conditions to determine radiation responses to ionizing radiation; implementing a radiation-tolerant architecture using COTS devices from the selected subset, the implemented circuit may be tested for robustness to ionizing radiation effects without repeated destructive tests of the hardware circuit by using the mathematical models for simulating response to the ionizing radiation, and implementing a multi-layer shielding to protect the implemented circuit under various radiation conditions.