Since 2002, Xilinx Radiation Test Consortium (XRTC) partners have pooled resources through the XRTC to characterize and mitigate radiation-induced effects in FPGAs with the goal of boldly increasing their use in harsh radiation environments, esp. outer space.

The XRTC was founded in 2002 by NASA/JPL and Xilinx to evaluate re-configurable FPGAs for aerospace applications. The Consortium brings together top experts from industry, government, and academia to test and characterize radiation effects and mitigation techniques for re-configurable FPGAs.

The XRTC strives to:

• Provide independent and unbiased testing and characterization of radiation effects and mitigation techniques in re-configurable FPGAs.
• Facilitate industry cooperation and collaboration in the testing of re-configurable FPGAs.
• Enable public awareness and access to test results and publications.

Beyond what is visible on this page, additional information can be found on the Xilinx High Reliability and Space Lounge. To access the Xilinx Space Lounge you will need to request access through your Xilinx account.

Video recordings and presentation slides of past XRTC events are available in the Archive Section.

Do you have a topic to present to the consortium during the weekly XRTC meetings?

• Flight and radiation-test related designs, new test, hardware and mission concepts, and obtained results on topics related to the XRTC are the main fodder. However, we also welcome project overviews, either planned, accomplished, or currently operating, test plans, and do host open discussions for position-finding.
• Contributions from non-members are explicitly welcome and we very much appreciate input from beyond the current horizon.
• Yes? Then please submit a proposal including a brief abstract to Gary and Christian via email to Gary.M.Swift (at) ieee.org and christian.fuchs (at) dependable.space

We have moved from the Xilinx-hosted Webex Meeting to a new Boeing-hosted instance. Thank you Boeing! Check the Meeting-Access wiki-page for web-access and phone dial-in details.

What do we do next, Versal or Ultrascale+? How do we accelerate and improve the CTI and DUT design process, considering what we have learned from the V7, KU060, and US+Latch-Up experiences.

DUT Options:

• 7nm Versal ACAP
• 16nm Ultrascale+ MPSoC (assuming our latch-up mitigation technique is successful)

• KU060 Rev. 1 cards have been manufactured, deliveries in July 2020
• Next Step:
  • Get test IP ready testing is scheduled to start after Summer 2020 at LBNL.
• Beam time resources needed!
• Gen4 Backplane and FMC PCB-Fix Available

• For the duration of the test campaign no webex meetings will take place
• You can chat with Gary and Mike while they are streaming the test
• There will be an online beam-log (google docs)

• You are invited to join the test via Jitsi Meet by taking your web browser to this URL:
  • https://meet.jit.si/TAMUtest (try Chrome or Firefox)
  • Password: see (internal page) OR contact christian.fuchs (at) dependable.space

• KU060 Testing with Boeing (19th - 22nd):
• here are the hours in world time:
  • 6:00 to 14:00 US Pacific Time
  • 8:00 to 16:00 US Central Time
  • 15:00 to 23:00 Central European Summer Time (CEST)
  • 21:00 to 5:00 China Time Zone
  • 22:00 to 6:00 Japan Time Zone

• Next Step: Waiting to test functionally in September
• Test boards - ZCU102 with ZU9EG DUT - (6=NGC, 2=Sandia, 2=Aerospace, 3=Xilinx)
• Beam time resources needed:
  • USMDA 48h in 2 groups at Berekely
    • 3x8h during Aug. 5th-7th and 3x8h during Sep. 21st-23rd
  • The Berkeley Cyclotron failed, hence testing on Aug. 5th-7th was not possible.
  • New test date is scheduled for March 2021
  • New test date is scheduled for April 2021 at TAMU

• View the Live-Updated Beam-Log and Test plan (google docs)

• You are invited to join the test via Jitsi Meet by taking your web browser to this URL:
  • https://meet.jit.si/LBLtest (try Chrome or Firefox)
  • Password: see (internal page) OR contact christian.fuchs (at) dependable.space
  • You can use the text-chat function in this call and chat with Gary and Mike while they are streaming. Please make SURE to mute your microphone at all times and turn your camera off. Do not allow camera use.

• There will also be an interactive briefing held by Gary from 10:30 to 11:00 PST:
  • https://meet.jit.si/LBLbriefing
  • During this meeting you can ask question and suggest improvements Thursday through Saturday. Feel free to talk and chat, but remember also to keep your camera/video off.

• Zynq MPSoC/16nm Test Campaign (April 28-30th, May 1st and 2nd):
  • US Pacific Time:
    • 16:00 to 0:00/midnight on April 28-30th
    • 6:00 to 12:00/noon on May 1st and 2nd
  • CEST:
    • 1:00 to 9:00 April 29-30th and May 1st
    • 15:00 to 21:00 May 2nd and 3rd
  • China:
    • 7:00 to 15:00 April 29-30th and May 1st
    • 21:00 to 3:00 (next day) May 2nd and 3rd

Analysis team is meeting weekly. Expect a full report of the XRTC Virtex-7 Campaign (TAM1216, UCD0117, TAM0317) soon. The current mature draft can be downloaded here.

Results include:

• LVCMOS/LVDS IOB input and output cross-sections
• BRAM and BRAM-ECC cross-section and performance analysis
• Clocking Resources, both PLL and MMCM
• CRAM cross-section
• IOSERDES
• SEFIs

Earlier published documents are available here

To be includes in general XRTC communication and announcements, sign up here . The list is low in volume, used about once a month. It is mainly used for consortium status updates, planning of upcoming Special Presentations (suitable for forwarding to your interested colleagues) and last-minute informations.

To obtain access to the non-public regions of this wiki, as well as the other facilities of the XRTC, please contact Gary.M.Swift (at) ieee.org and christian.fuchs (at) dependable.space . Please put “Join XRTC WIKI” in the subject line and identify yourself with full name, affiliation, job title and category: 'radiation specialist', 'designer', or 'other' in the latter case, please 'specify'). If possible, do include a phone number and instant messenger contact information.

To participate, contribute, or in general getting in touch with the XRTC. Please get in contact with an existing consortium member or contact the XRTC organizers.