Transient faults in semiconductors may be caused by a variety of sources such as transistor variability, thermal cycling, or radiation that is external to the semiconductor chip. Radiation-induced transient faults may be caused by alpha particles from packaging as well as neutron flux from the atmosphere. Neutron flux varies based on altitude. Specifically, the neutron flux is attenuated at lower altitudes, but increases at higher altitudes. For example, the neutron flux is about three and a half times higher in a mountainous region such as Denver, Colo. when compared to a location at sea level. Furthermore, neutron flux is significantly higher at aircraft altitude when compared to the neutron flux at sea level. Aircraft altitude is typically about 40,000 feet (12,192 meters) on average, but varies based on various factors such as, but not limited to, the type of aircraft, weight, the length of the flight, and atmospheric conditions.
Due to advances in technology, hardware circuits for aviation applications may now utilize smaller semiconductors that also include faster switching rates. However, these semiconductors tend to be more susceptible to the radiation effects that are normally experienced at aircraft altitude when compared to older legacy systems. This may cause one or more single event upsets, which changes the value of a bit in a transistor. For example, the value of a bit may be switched from 0 to 1, which may comprise various data calculations performed by the circuit. Accordingly, there exists a need to mitigate the effects of radiation on flight control hardware circuits.