Abstract

It is desirable for DRAM devices to be used in harsh radiation environments. Exposure to radiation causes DRAM cells to lose their retention time as their ability to store charge effectively declines. Exposure also worsens the effect of disturbance that causes neighboring cells to flip when a row is opened multiple times: an effect known as the Row Hammer Effect. This thesis evaluates the impact of radiation-induced memory cell degradation by comparing memory cell's retention time and their resilience to the row hammer vulnerability. Three generations of DRAM were placed under a neutron radiation beam. Sections of the irradiated devices were tested and compared to non-irradiated devices. It is shown that irradiation on DRAM devices causes cell retention loss and a potential difference with disturbances to nearby bits from row activations. Little to no correlation was observed between row hammer and retention bit failures in the DRAM devices tested.

Degree

College and Department

Ira A. Fulton College of Engineering; Electrical and Computer Engineering

Rights

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