Single-event effects in avionics

TLDR

Avionics SEUs, especially in RAMs and microprocessors, are a recognized concern because atmospheric neutrons can induce upsets, latch‑ups, and burnouts. Studies confirm that SEUs occur in flight, their rates match atmospheric neutron flux, and can be predicted from laboratory data.

Abstract

The occurrence of single-event upset (SEU) in aircraft electronics has evolved from a series of interesting anecdotal incidents to accepted fact. A study completed in 1992 demonstrated that SEUs are real, that the measured in-flight rates correlate with the atmospheric neutron flux, and that the rates can be calculated using laboratory SEU data. Once avionics SEU was shown to be an actual effect, it had to be dealt with in avionics designs. The major concern is in random access memories (RAMs), both static (SRAMs) and dynamic (DRAMs), because these microelectronic devices contain the largest number of bits, but other parts, such as microprocessors, are also potentially susceptible to upset. In addition, other single-event effects (SEEs), specifically latch-up and burnout, can also be induced by atmospheric neutrons.