Abstract

FPGA devices although built to be robust, are not everlasting. They are not completely invulnerable to the occurrence of faults, whether temporary or permanent. Whereas the test after manufacturing detects all faults due to production process, in normal conditions, at sea level, even with the recent nanometric technologies, the manifestation of permanent faults in FPGAs during their expected life cycle is considered to be near zero. However, in hostile conditions, such as in space where radiation levels are higher (or terrestrial environments such as nuclear power plants, nuclear physics research centers, particle accelerators, etc.), the rate of permanent faults in an FPGA device can not be neglected.