PLD IRRADIATION TEST PROJECT



The aim of this project is to develop a circuit board in order to test a candidate programmable logic device (PLD) for implementing a radiation tolerant S-LINK source card (LSC). This board can be used as a simplex S-LINK Link Source Card that is using G-LINK as physical layer, or as a data generator test card for radiation testing.  The actual function depends on the configuration of the FPGA.

If the FPGA is configured for data generator, two independent data paths can be used to check the correct functioning of the card. At this configuration the card requires three control signals on its differential (RS-422) inputs which select test patterns or reset the card.  Four different data patterns can be selected by the control signals.  The FPGA generates "Test Pulses" on four differential lines, which monitor the internal functioning of the digital logic. These four signals are transmitted to a data analyzer via an RS-422 Line Driver and twisted pair cable connections.

The second data path serves for monitoring the joint functioning of the  FPGA, Serializer and Media Interface. Test pattern generated by the FPGA is framed into 224+2 word packets which start and terminate with a control word. The four MSB of the data words contain parity bits for each four bits  respectively. The serialized data is transmitted using optical (any standard 9 pin) or electrical (Lemo connector) media interface.

In case the FPGA is configured for S-Link Source, the card serializes and transmits the data which is sent to its S-LINK connector via electrical or optical media  . The simplex G-LINK LDC can be used as receiver.

Single Event Effect and Total Dose tests will investigate the adequacy of the selected devices for the ATLAS Front-End links. Expected error rate will be established for the different Front-End link environments.
 


Radiation Test Setup

FPGA Design Block Diagram
Different test patterns can be generated by the loadable circular shift registers (walking 1, walking 0, alternating bits, walking FF). This data is sent to the G-Link serializer. To test the internal functioning of the PLD, four shift registers are implemented, two with triple modular redundancy which reduces the single event upset probablity and two using single flip-flops. One data path is sent to and fed-back from device pins to test the I/O circuits as well. The data patterns at the outputs of the shift registers are compared in each clock cycle. If no errors have occurred, the comparison result will be true.  If a SEU (Single Event Upset) occurs in one of the shift registers, in the I/O feedback path or in the comparator, the result of the comparison will be false. Since the signaling speed is limited on the twisted pairs going to the control room, multiple words are compared in one "test period" and a latch will be toggled if one or more comparison errors occur during this time. The length of a test period is 6.4us. At the end of each test period a "control pulse" is sent from a counter on one twisted pair. Similar, "test" pulses are generated on the 3 other twisted pairs in case no comparison errors occurred during the test period. The theoretical error probability (the probability that the pulse is missing at the end of a test period) is different on each line. The shift registers are reloaded at the beginning of each test period. This method ensures a slow signaling rate on the twisted pairs and full speed operation of the internal logic circuits. All logic circuits are synchronous, the clock frequency is 40Mhz which is the read-out frequency of most ATLAS Front-End links. SEU mitigation methods should be used to implement the control pulse generating circuits.
 

Test pulses are sent to the control room

A Line Receiver will send the received pulses to a PC via a National Instruments PCI-DIO-32-HS high speed digital I/O module. Data acquisition and error detection is controlled from Labview. The error detection can detect if one or more (control or test) pulse is missing or if non of the pulses are received, as control pulses will arrive periodically. If the control pulse is missing, it is due to an error occured in the pulse generator circuit. In case no pulses are received for a longer period, permanent damage of the circuit is probable. In this case manual intervention (system reset or power down) is necessary.
 

(Re)Started with pattern 1010101010     06/04/08:38:46 
23295.88        3 

(Re)Started with pattern 1010101010     07/04/08:39:47 

(Re)Started with pattern 1010101010     07/04/08:45:47 

(Re)Started with pattern Walking One    07/04/08:47:16 
15490.25        3 
15633.71        C 
19069.58        C       3 
44502.39        3 
56896.82        E 
59727.74        8       7 
60010.22        8 
 

 Example of an error log file generated with  Labview:
Test pattern, Start time, Error type and Time stamps in seconds relative to start time are recorded

The G-LINK serialiser (HDMP-1022) sends serial data to the optical media interface. At the receiving side the simplex G-LINK LDC will be used. The FPGA of this card includes an automatic data checker, so this card will check the data pattern, parity and packet length of the received packets. In case of mismatch, an error code is generated and the erroneous data with the error code will be written into the host computer (PC, Linux).
 

The LDC checks the received data and sends the error code (TEST tag on the picture)  to the Logic Analyzer
On this picture the analyzer triggered on a Parity and Data comparison Error

 
Radiation Environment

TCC2

This card will be first irradiated in the TCC2 area of the SPS accelerator. The estimated dose rate is about 50 Gy and 5.1010 neutrons/cm-2 which can be accumulated in a 6 week running period of SPS.  In one year depending on how the accelerators are operating, this gives 3x10**11 neutrons cm-2. The dose rate is monitored on-line at 7 locations of the test-area. The card is mounted on a SLITEST board and inserted into a VME crate close to PMITC03 and PMITC04 dosimeters. Dose measurements can be found here.
Obs this is a large file!The tcc2photo.gif= 121 kb
The TTC2 area, looking along the beams

On-Line Radiation Monitor Display

 

PSI

We irradiated the FPGA on this card at Paul Scherrer Institute, in a focused proton beam which is originally used for medical purpose. This beam is a ~64 MeV proton beam at 1.25E9 p/cm^2/s. It corresponds to an 0.5 MRad /h dose rate or 1E13 n/cm^2/h (1MeV) neutron fluence.

 Circuit Board Description

The board is powered through the S-Link connector. The ACTEL A54SX16 FPGA generates test data for G-Link, and test signals for monitoring the FPGA only. G-Link data is serialised by the HDMP-1022 G-Link transmitter chip. Serial data is sent to the Methode 19-4-1-S (Multimode, 850nm) laser driver. The FPGA-test signals from the FPGA are sent to the HS-26C31RH radiation hard Line Driver which transmits the data to the control room via 4 twisted pairs. The HS-26C32RH radiation hard Line Receiver receives control signals (reset, pattern select) from the control room. A  TEMEC QEN47CHRAY100SB 40 Mhz  quartz oscillator is used as system clock source, the 3.3V FPGA is powered by a LM117H linear regulator.

All signals of the S-Link connector are connected to I/O pins of the Actel chip so with a proper FPGA configuration this board can be used as a G-LINK based S-Link source card, which can transmit 16 or 32 bit words at max. 150 Mbyte/s.

 

G-Link - S-Link Source Card for Radiation Tests


Main Components

FPGA: ACTEL A54SX16

Quartz Oscillator: TEMEX QEN series (or VECTRON M55310 series)

Voltage Regulator: (for 5V -> 3.3V conversion) LM117HTotal Dose Test Results SEL test results
 

As this chip did not fulfil our requirements, we are planning to test the  HS-117RH regulator.
Serializer: HDMP - 1022 (HP - G-Link Transmitter)   Radiation Testing Results

Media interface: Methode MDX-19-4-1-S Radiation Testing Results

RS-422 Line Driver/Receiver: HS-26C31RH / HS-26C32RH

Power Filtering Capacitors:  470nF, ceramic


Results (Preliminary)


 Number of detected Single Event Upsets from 3/6 to 7/7 1999


 Future plans to make a radiation hard Gigabit datlink card

As technology advances the supply voltage of the digital chips is decreasing. At the design of this board we could not avoid using circuits with different supply voltages (5V and 3.3V) on the same board, generating the lower supply voltage with a voltage regulator. As 2.5 supply voltage chips will also appear in the future we probable will be able to eliminate the use of a voltage regulator. The present LM117H chip proved to be rather sensitive to radiation. We are planning to radiation test the HS-117RH radiation hardened voltage regulator.

It is necessary to find a radiation tolerand serialiser which does not loose synchronisation in radiation since thousands of datawords are lost while the link regains synchronisation.

Future investigations are necessary to prove the radiation tolerance of the Media Interface.



Last updated: 25.11.1999
Any comments, questions and critics are welcome!
Zoltán Meggyesi

CERN / KFKI-RMKI