Radiation Hardened MRAM-Based FPGA

Field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) are mainly composed of memory cells which store the configuration data defining the implemented functionality of the circuit. Today, advanced memories are facing a number of issues such as increased static power consumption and radiation sensitivity. These can be solved by the use of a new memory technology: magnetic random access memory (MRAM) [1]. It combines the reliability against radiation induced soft errors, the non-volatility of Flash memory, fast writing cycle, and the endurance of static random access memory (SRAM). MRAMs therefore appear as a good candidate for replacing today's memories in FPGAs [2]. To take advantage of all of its assets, a new FPGA architecture has been designed by taking into account all the specificities of MRAMs. This paper presents a silicon proven innovative MRAM-based look-up table (LUT) intended for space applications. It has been designed to validate the concept and measure the performance. It combines MRAM and dynamic logic for lower power consumption while increasing density and reliability to soft errors.