ACME: A tool to improve configuration memory fault injection in SRAM-based FPGAS

Abstract

Circuits in harsh environments, as space, tend to suffer severe problems caused by radiation. In this scenario, where the behavior of the system can be jeopardized, it is critical to produce fault tolerant circuits that can operate correctly. An important task in this scenario is to effectively test the new fault tolerant designs to guarantee their correct operation. There exist several and diverse methods to achieve this task, from actual test flights to the use of particle accelerators. Fault injection emulation is one of the most popular methods, due to its low cost, availability and convenience. There are a number of tools to perform fault injection using a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) as a supporting platform for this task. However, most of these tools are very dependent on the FPGA version and technology, with limited capability to control the injection process in a precise way. In this paper we present ACME (Automatic Configuration Memory Error-injection), a new tool able to pinpoint fault injections in specific areas of the design under test, with great control and precision of the process. In addition, the methodology to configure the tool and make it work with new FPGA families is also provided.