A Single-Event Immune Oscillator for On-Chip Clock Systems

SANG Hao; YUAN Heng-zhou; GUO Yang; LIU Sheng; CHEN Xiao-wen; XU Wei-xia

doi:10.12263/DZXB.20250667

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A Single-Event Immune Oscillator for On-Chip Clock Systems

PAPERS | 更新时间：2025-12-27

- A Single-Event Immune Oscillator for On-Chip Clock Systems
- ACTA ELECTRONICA SINICA Vol. 53, Issue 9, Pages: 3202-3210(2025)
- 作者机构：
  
  1.国防科技大学计算机学院，湖南长沙 410073
  2.国防科技大学先进微处理器芯片与系统重点实验室，湖南长沙 410073
- 作者简介：
- 基金信息：
  
  National Natural Science Foundation of China(62174180)
- DOI：10.12263/DZXB.20250667
  CLC： TN402;
- Received：30 July 2025，
  
  Accepted：18 September 2025，
  
  Published：25 September 2025
- 稿件说明：
移动端阅览
桑浩, 袁珩洲, 郭阳, 等. 一种用于片上时钟系统的单粒子不敏感振荡器[J]. 电子学报, 2025, 53(09): 3202-3210.

SANG Hao, YUAN Heng-zhou, GUO Yang, et al. A Single-Event Immune Oscillator for On-Chip Clock Systems[J]. Acta Electronica Sinica, 2025, 53(09): 3202-3210.
桑浩, 袁珩洲, 郭阳, 等. 一种用于片上时钟系统的单粒子不敏感振荡器[J]. 电子学报, 2025, 53(09): 3202-3210. DOI：10.12263/DZXB.20250667

SANG Hao, YUAN Heng-zhou, GUO Yang, et al. A Single-Event Immune Oscillator for On-Chip Clock Systems[J]. Acta Electronica Sinica, 2025, 53(09): 3202-3210. DOI：10.12263/DZXB.20250667

摘要

随着先进半导体工艺的持续演进，芯片集成度与复杂度显著提升，系统时钟设计正逐步从片外晶振向片上时钟系统转变.基于LC压控振荡器（Inductor-Capacitor Voltage-Controlled Oscillator，LCVCO）的锁频环（Frequency-Locked Loop，FLL）时钟基准产生电路凭借其优异的噪声抑制特性和强抗辐照能力，成为高可靠性电子系统的关键技术.然而，现有LCVCO架构中的电容阵列与尾电流源对单粒子效应高度敏感，这在太空辐射环境中极易引发系统故障，严重制约了其在航天领域的应用前景.本文针对上述问题，提出一种新型LCVCO架构，旨在提升高可靠片上时钟系统的鲁棒性.该架构引入动态自偏置反馈技术，通过振荡信号实时动态调节尾电流源的偏置电压，有效抑制1/

噪声并实现输出幅度的自稳定控制.基于脉冲灵敏度函数（Impulse Sensitivity Function，ISF）对振荡器的相位噪声和单粒子敏感性进行评估和对比，仿真结果表明，本文设计的LCVCO在关键节点处的ISF曲线具有更低的幅值和良好的对称性，显著提升了噪声性能与抗SET特性.此外，谐振腔采用低阻抗泄放路径的NMOS型电容阵列单元，该单元结构能快速泄放单粒子瞬态电流，降低其带来的频率波动.本设计基于鳍形场效应晶体管（Fin Field-Effect Transistor，FinFET）工艺实现，芯片面积为0.06 mm²，功耗为9.6 mW.在26 MHz输出时钟条件下，相位噪声优化为-136 dBc/Hz@1MHz，品质因数（Figure of Merit，FoM）值为154.5 dBc/Hz@1MHz，周期抖动均方根值为5.93 ps.激光实验结果表明，本文设计的LCVCO激光触发阈值提升至1.5 nJ，较传统结构提高114.3%，大幅降低了单粒子效应的影响，重离子辐照实验在86.1 MeV·cm²/mg的线性能量转移（Linear Energy Transfer，LET）值下进行，结果显示最大频率偏移低于4.5%.仿真和实测结果充分验证了该电路在太空辐射环境中的高可靠性，为航天电子设备提供了更稳健的时钟解决方案.

Abstract

With the continuous evolution of advanced semiconductor processes

chip integration and complexity have significantly increased. System clock design is gradually shifting from off-chip crystal oscillators to on-chip clock systems. frequency-locked loop (FLL) clock reference generation circuits based on Inductor-Capacitor voltage-controlled oscillators(LCVCOs) have become a key technology for high-reliability electronic systems due to their excellent noise suppression characteristics and strong radiation resistance capabilities. However

existing LCVCO archite

ctures are highly sensitive to single-event effects in capacitor arrays and tail current sources

which can easily cause system failures in space radiation environments

severely limiting their application prospects in aerospace.To address these issues

this paper proposes a novel LCVCO architecture aimed at enhancing the robustness of reliable on-chip clock systems. This architecture introduces dynamic self-bias feedback technology

dynamically adjusting the bias voltage of the tail current source through real-time oscillation signals to effectively suppress 1/

noise and achieve self-stabilization control of output amplitude. The phase noise and single-event sensitivity of oscillators are evaluated and compared based on the impulse sensitivity function (ISF). Simulation results show that the ISF curve of the LCVCO designed in this paper has lower amplitude and better symmetry at critical nodes

significantly improving noise performance and single event transient (SET) tolerance. Additionally

the resonant tank uses an NMOS-type capacitor array unit with low-impedance discharge paths

which can quickly discharge single-event transient currents

reducing frequency fluctuations caused by them. The design is implemented using fin field-effect transistor (FinFET) technology

occupying an area of 0.06 mm² and consuming 9.6 mW of power. At a 26 MHz output clock

the phase noise is optimized to -136 dBc/Hz@1MHz

with a figure of merit (FoM) value of 154.5 dBc/Hz@1MHz

and the root mean square (RMS) value of cycle jitter is 5.93 ps. Laser experiments show that the laser triggering threshold of the LCVCO designed in this paper has been increased to 1.5 nJ

an improvement of 114.3% compared to traditional structures

greatly reducing the impact of single-event effects. Heavy-ion irradiation experiments were conducted at a linear energy transfer (LET) value of 86.1 MeV·cm²/mg

showing that the maximum frequency deviation is less than 4.5%. The simulation and experimental results fully validate the high rel

iability of this circuit in the space radiation environment

which provides a more robust clocking solution for spaceborne electronic equipment.

关键词

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references

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