An RHBD Bandgap Reference Utilizing Single Event Transient Isolation Technique

A novel radiation-hardened-by-design (RHBD) structure to reduce the single event transient (SET) amplitude in analog circuits is presented in this paper. This structure features an SET isolation technique, which contains a sensor and a switch. The sensor turns off the switch when it detects a voltage transient at the sensitive node, in which case the core circuit is temporarily isolated from the output. Once the voltage at the sensitive node recovers, the sensor turns on the switch again in order to connect the core circuit to the output. This RHBD technique was validated based on a typical bandgap reference circuit, which was fabricated in the IBM 130 nm technology. The simulation results demonstrated a significant reduction in the SET amplitude, which was further verified with the pulsed laser. The additional sensor and the switch in the circuit only produce a minor amount of additional power dissipation if they are properly chosen. The area overhead is rendered negligible by means of selecting the appropriate sizes of transistors for the RHBD structure.