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Single-Event Effects Analysis of a Pulse Width Modulator IC in a DC/DC Converter

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Abstract

Alpha particles, neutrons and laser-beam test results on an integrated pulse width modulation (PWM) controller operating in a DC/DC converter are presented in this paper. The PWM is fabricated on a 600-nm Bi-CMOS technology. Single-Event Transient (SET) derived from a bandgap circuit was amplified by a filter capacitor in the propagation path. Finally, a constant 6-μs SET pulse was observed on PGOOD pin which is a supervisory signal. This glitch caused system resets. Pulsed laser technology was adopted to locate the origin of the SET. 3D TCAD and circuit simulation tools were used to analyze the root cause. System and circuit level hardening approaches to mitigate the SET are also presented.

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Acknowledgment

The authors would like to thank Dr. Sophie Brunet of the Saskatchewan Structural Science Center (SSSC) for her taking part in the laser experiments.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada

    Y. Ren, L. Fan & L. Chen

  2. Cisco Systems Inc, San Jose, CA, USA

    S.-J. Wen & R. Wong

  3. Intersil Inc, Milpitas, CA, USA

    N. W. van Vonno

  4. Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Department, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA

    A. F. Witulski & B. L. Bhuva

Authors
  1. Y. Ren
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  2. L. Fan
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  3. L. Chen
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  4. S.-J. Wen
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  5. R. Wong
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  6. N. W. van Vonno
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  7. A. F. Witulski
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  8. B. L. Bhuva
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Y. Ren.

Additional information

Responsible Editor: K. K. Saluja

Manuscript received July 04, 2012. This work was supported in part by NSERC, the Cisco Systems Inc. and Intersil Inc.

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Ren, Y., Fan, L., Chen, L. et al. Single-Event Effects Analysis of a Pulse Width Modulator IC in a DC/DC Converter. J Electron Test 28, 877–883 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10836-012-5338-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10836-012-5338-8

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