Year: 2025
Type: conference-paper
Abstract: This study examines the vulnerability of modern embedded GPUs—specifically the NVIDIA Jetson Orin NX and Xavier NX System-on-Modules (SoMs)—to Single-Event Effects (SEEs) under heavy ion irradiation. Originally developed for safety-critical environments such as automotive systems, these high-performance SoMs integrate advanced computing capabili-ties with built-in functional safety, positioning them as promising candidates for deployment in radiation-prone domains like space. We assess SEE behavior across various ion energy levels, focusing on the central System-on-Chip (SoC), which includes the CPU, GPU, and peripheral components. Our evaluation covers both the runtime and boot-time phases, providing a comprehensive view of fault susceptibility and its implications for system uptime and reliability in space conditions. The paper presents an in-depth analysis of error signatures observed in both the CPU and GPU due to ion strikes, contrasting these with outcomes from previous proton-based studies. Additionally, we compare the two NVIDIA platforms in terms of SEE types—including Single-Event Latch-up (SEL)—to evaluate their relative robustness and inform their potential adoption in space-grade applications.
Institutions: Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, European Space Agency
Language: English
Subfield: Electrical and Electronic Engineering
Field: Engineering
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
Awards: G2064873908, G2262748287, G2601397997, G3005324705, G300979063, MODULAR MODEL-BASED DESIGN AND TESTING FOR APPLICATIONS IN SATELLITES, G3480869486, G3681454997, G4042783231, G425668148, G4937468798, G5038074288, G5080475149, G6357786954, RADiation facility Network for the EXploration of effects for indusTry and research, G683931746, Scalable and Quantum Resilient Heterogeneous Edge Computing enabling Trustworthy AI, G8430294048
OpenAlex ID: W4416725458