Comparison of the Total Ionizing Dose Sensitivity of a System in Package Point of Load Converter Using Both Component- and System-Level Test Approaches

Testing at system level is evaluated by measuring the sensitivity of point-of-load (PoL) converter parameters, submitted to total ionizing dose (TID) irradiations, at both system and component levels. Testing at system level shows that the complete system can be fully functional at the TID level more than two times higher than the qualification level obtained using a standard-based component-level approach. Analysis of the failure processes shows that the TID tolerance during testing at system level is increased due to internal compensation in the system. Finally, advantages and shortcomings of the testing at system level are discussed.