Exploring the Fault Tolerance of LEON3FT SoCs on CertusPro-NX FPGAs

By _Frontgrade Gaisler Blog

October 14, 2024

In this blog post we focus on the integration of the LEON3FT fault-tolerant processor on the CertusPro-NX FPGA, which is functionally equivalent to the CertusPro-NX-RT, a radiation-tolerant FPGA provided by Frontgrade. This system has been rigorously tested under radiation to simulate the harsh conditions of space. The findings demonstrate the reliability and robustness of the platform. The technical paper detailing this research has been presented at the RADECS 2024 conference and will soon be available in IEEE Xplore.

A Look at the Test Setup

The system under test was a LEON3FT-based System-on-Chip (SoC) implemented on the CertusPro-NX FPGA, a device built using 28nm Fully Depleted Silicon-On-Insulator (FDSOI) technology. The combination of FDSOI’s inherent radiation tolerance and LEON3FT fault tolerant processor design makes this an attractive solution for applications where radiation resilience and low power consumption are key. The test was conducted using the proton beam at the Paul Scherrer Institute’s (PSI) Proton Irradiation Facility (PIF), evaluating the system’s response to radiation-induced Single Event Effects (SEE) across various energy levels.

The FPGA design was based on a LEON3FT processor and the GRLIB library. Several peripherals are included, such as two SpaceWire links. The design was iterated to target low-power and high-performance modes to assess the system’s behavior under both conditions. The testing aimed to evaluate the configuration memory (CRAM) of the FPGA, protected by an on-chip scrubber, and the SRAM user memories, whose protection is instead managed by the LEON3FT SoC’s fault tolerance features.

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