Reconfigurable Computing & Its Use in Space Applications in 20 minutes… Dr. Brock J. LaMeres Associate Professor Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering

Reconfigurable Computing What is Reconfigurable Computing? A System That Alters Its Hardware as its Normal Operating Procedure This can be done in real-time or at compile time. This can be done on the full-chip, or just on certain portions. Changing the hardware allows it to be optimized for the application at hand. 2 The typical approach to hardware is to build everything that will ever be needed. In Reconfigurable Computing, hardware is instead altered and re-used.

Reconfigurable Computing How is RC Different? Today’s Computers are Based on a General-Purpose Processor The GP CPU is designed to do many things. This is the “Jack of All Trades, Master of None” approach. 3 General Purpose CPU Model Reconfigurable Computing Model

Reconfigurable Computing Who Cares? Our Existing Computers Seem to be Working Well. Why Change? Our existing computers have benefited from 40 years of Moore’s Law. In the 1960’s, Gordon Moore predicted that the number of transistors on a chip would double every ~24 months. 4 Gordon Moore, co- founder of Intel, holding a vacuum tube * Note: First microprocessor introduced in 1971, the Intel 4004 with 2300 transistors.

Reconfigurable Computing Moore’s Law Rocks! Why is Moore’s Law so Cool? Our general-purpose computer model has gotten smaller, faster, and more power efficient every 24 months. This has allowed faster operation and more sophisticated software to be executed. The development tools evolve coinciding with the faster/smaller transistors. So we haven’t cared that most of the CPU sits idle since each new node is so much better than the last, we always win! 5 Replica of the First Transistor (Source: AP Photo Paul Sakuma) Intel Xeon Phi, 22nm (Source: newsroom.intel.com) Intel 4004, 10um (Source: newsroom.intel.com) 1947 (1 transistor) 1971 (2300 transistors) 2012 (5B transistors)

Reconfigurable Computing How long can we do this? When will Moore’s Law End? Most exponentials do come to an end. 6 Clock Speed Power Performance per Clock Cycle But is transistor count what we care about?

Reconfigurable Computing Computation vs. Transistor Count We Really Care About Computation 7 You Are Here

Reconfigurable Computing The Promise of RC A Computer Always Needs an Application We discovered that space computers could be greatly enhanced by RC. They need to be light. RC reuses hardware, that saves mass. 8

Reconfigurable Computing The Promise of RC A Computer Always Needs an Application We discovered that space computers could be greatly enhanced by RC. They need to be light. RC reuses hardware, that saves mass. 9

Reconfigurable Computing The Promise of RC A Computer Always Needs an Application We discovered that space computers could be greatly enhanced by RC. They need to be light. RC reuses hardware, that saves mass. They need to be low power. RC eliminates unnecessary circuitry. 10

Reconfigurable Computing The Promise of RC A Computer Always Needs an Application We discovered that space computers could be greatly enhanced by RC. They need to be light. RC reuses hardware, that saves mass. They need to be low power. RC eliminates unnecessary circuitry. 11

Reconfigurable Computing The Promise of RC A Computer Always Needs an Application We discovered that space computers could be greatly enhanced by RC. They need to be light. RC reuses hardware, that saves mass. They need to be low power. RC eliminates unnecessary circuitry. They need to have high computation. RC can do that. 12

Reconfigurable Computing The Promise of RC A Computer Always Needs an Application We discovered that space computers could be greatly enhanced by RC. They need to be light. RC reuses hardware, that saves mass. They need to be low power. RC eliminates unnecessary circuitry. They need to have high computation. RC can do that. 13

Reconfigurable Computing The Promise of RC A Computer Always Needs an Application We discovered that space computers could be greatly enhanced by RC. They need to be light. RC reuses hardware, that saves mass. They need to be low power. RC eliminates unnecessary circuitry. They need to have high computation. RC can do that. They need to operate in the presence of harsh radiation. 14

Reconfigurable Computing The Promise of RC A Computer Always Needs an Application We discovered that space computers could be greatly enhanced by RC. They need to be light. RC reuses hardware, that saves mass. They need to be low power. RC eliminates unnecessary circuitry. They need to have high computation. RC can do that. They need to operate in the presence of harsh radiation. 15 Can you repeat the question???

Reconfigurable Computing Where Does Radiation Come From? 16 3) Trapped Radiation 1) Cosmic Rays 2) Solar Particle Events

Reconfigurable Computing What Types of Radiation is There? Radiation Categories 1.Ionizing Radiation o Sufficient energy to remove electrons from atomic orbit o Ex. High energy photons, charged particles 2.Non-Ionizing Radiation o Insufficient energy/charge to remove electrons from atomic orbit o Ex., microwaves, radio waves Types of Ionizing Radiation 1.Gamma & X-Rays (photons) o Sufficient energy in the high end of the UV spectrum 2.Charged Particles o Electrons, positrons, protons, alpha, beta, heavy ions 3.Neutrons o No electrical charge but ionize indirectly through collisions What Type are Electronics Sensitive To? Ionization which causes electrons to be displaced Particles which collide and displace silicon crystal 17

Reconfigurable Computing What are the Effects? 1. Total Ionizing Dose (TID) o Cumulative long term damage due to ionization. o Primarily due to low energy protons and electrons due to higher, more constant flux, particularly when trapped o Problem #1 – Oxide Breakdown »Threshold Shifts »Leakage Current »Timing Changes 18

Reconfigurable Computing What are the Effects? 2. Single Event Effects (SEE) o Electron/hole pairs created by a single particle passing through semiconductor o Primarily due to heavy ions and high energy protons o Excess charge carriers cause current pulses o Creates a variety of destructive and non-destructive damage “Critical Charge” = the amount of charge deposited to change the state of a gate 19

Reconfigurable Computing But I’m Texting Right Now? How can our computers function? 20 You Are Here Thank you atmosphere. Thank you magnetosphere

Reconfigurable Computing But there are computers in space? Stuff is up there now, how does it function? 21 Thank you federal government. A-Side Computer BAE Rad750 $200,000 B-Side Computer BAE Rad750 $200,000

Reconfigurable Computing But there are computers in space? Rad-Hard Processors Can be Made that are SLOW and EXPENSIVE Rad-Hard computers tend to lag commercial versions in performance by 10+ years. They are also 100s-1000x more expensive. 22

Reconfigurable Computing I Know You’re Going to Ask…. Shielding Shielding helps for protons and electrons <30MeV, but has diminishing returns after 0.25”. This shielding is typically inherent in the satellite/spacecraft design. 23 Shield Thickness vs. Dose Rate (LEO)

Reconfigurable Computing How Does RC Help This? Total Ionizing Dose TID actually diminishes as features get smaller. This is good because we want to use the smallest transistors to get the fastest performance. Using off-the-shelf parts also reduces cost. Single Event Effects SEE gets worse! But it isn’t permanent. So we just need a new computer architecture to handle it. 24

Reconfigurable Computing What Technology is used for RC? Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGA) Currently the most attractive option. SRAM-based FPGAs give the most flexibility Riding Moore’s Law feature shrinkage but achieving computation in a different way. 25

Reconfigurable Computing Enter MSU FPGA-Based, Radiation Tolerant Computing System We have created a new computer architecture based on RC that provides tolerance to SEE’s caused by radiation. 26

Reconfigurable Computing Our Approach What is needed for FPGA-Based Reconfigurable Computing? 1.SRAM-based FPGAs o To support fast reconfiguration 2.Good TID Immunity o FPGAs fabricated in 45nm or less processes have acceptable TID immunity for the majority of missions. The Final Piece is SEE Fault Mitigation due to High Energy Ionizing Radiation SEEs will happen, nothing can stop this. A computer architecture that expects and response to faults is needed. 27

Reconfigurable Computing Our Approach A Many-Tile Architecture The FPGA is divided up into Tiles A Tile is a quantum of resources that: o Fully contains a system (e.g., processor, accelerator) o Can be programmed via partial reconfiguration (PR) Fault Tolerance 1.TMR + Spares 2.Spatial Avoidance of Background Repair 3.Scrubbing 4.An External Radiation Sensor MicroBlaze Soft Processors on an Virtex-6

Reconfigurable Computing Our Approach 1.TMR + Spares 3 Tiles run in TMR with the rest reserved as spares. In the event of a fault, the damaged tile is replaced with a spare and foreground operation continues. 2.Spatial Avoidance & Repair The damaged Tile is “repaired” in the background via Partial Reconfiguration. The repaired tile is reintroduced into the system as an available spare. 3.Scrubbing A traditional scrubber runs in the background. Either blind or read-back. PR is technically a “blind scrub”, but of a particular region of the FPGA. 4.External Sensor Provide information about radiation strikes that have occurred but may not have caused a fault, yet Shuttle Flight Computer (TMR + Spare)

Reconfigurable Computing Our Approach Why do it this way? With Spares, it basically becomes a flow-problem: o If the repair rate is faster than the incoming fault rate, you’re safe. o If the repair rate is slightly slower than the incoming fault rate, spares give you additional time. o The additional time can accommodate varying flux rates. o Abundant resources on an FPGA enable dynamic scaling of the number of spares. (e.g., build a bigger tub in real time) 30

Reconfigurable Computing Let’s Get Started Time for Research 31

Reconfigurable Computing Technical Readiness Level (TRL-1) Step 1 – Understand the Problem and See if RC Helps The Montana Space Grant Consortium funds an investigation into conducting radiation tolerant computing research at MSU. The goal is to understand the problem, propose a solution, and build relationships with scientists at NASA. 32 ( ) Proof of Concept Timeline of Activity at MSU Clint Gauer (MSEE from MSU 2009) demo’s computer to MSFC Chief of Technology Andrew Keys

Reconfigurable Computing Technical Readiness Level (TRL-3) Step 2 – Build a Prototype and Test in a Cyclotron NASA funds the development of a more functional prototype and testing under bombardment by radiation at the Texas A&M Radiation Effects Facility. 33 ( ) Proof of Concept Prototype Development & Cyclotron Testing ( ) Timeline of Activity at MSU Ray Weber (Ph.D., EE from MSU, 2014) prepares experiment.

Reconfigurable Computing Technical Readiness Level (TRL-5) Step 3 – Demonstrate as Flight Hardware on High Altitude Balloons NASA funds the development of the computer into flight hardware for demonstration on high altitude balloon systems, both in Montana and at NASA. 34 ( ) Proof of Concept Prototype Development & Cyclotron Testing High Altitude Balloon Demos ( ) ( ) Timeline of Activity at MSU MSU Computer Justin Hogan (Ph.D., EE from MSU, 2014) prepares payload.

Reconfigurable Computing Technical Readiness Level (TRL-7) Step 4 – Demonstrate as Flight Hardware on a Sounding Rocket NASA funds the demonstration of the computer system on sounding rocket. Payload is integrated and will fly on 10/20/14 at White Sands Missile Range. 35 ( ) Proof of Concept Prototype Development & Cyclotron Testing High Altitude Balloon Demos Sounding Rocket Demo ( ) ( )( ) Timeline of Activity at MSU Justin Hogan and Ray Weber (MSU Ph.D. Grads) at rocket training boot camp in 2012.

Reconfigurable Computing Technical Readiness Level (TRL-8) Step 5 – Demonstrate on the International Space Station NASA funds the demonstration of computer system in International Space Station. 36 ( ) Proof of Concept Prototype Development & Cyclotron Testing High Altitude Balloon Demos Sounding Rocket Demo ISS Demo ( ) ( )( ) ( ) Timeline of Activity at MSU ISS Mockup at Johnson Space Center for Crew Training Mission Control Room for Apollo Program

Reconfigurable Computing Technical Readiness Level (TRL-8) Selfie with $60M Space Suit

Reconfigurable Computing Technical Readiness Level (TRL-9) Step 6 – Demonstrate as a Stand-Alone Satellite NASA funds the demonstration of the computer system in a Low Earth Orbit mission. 38 ( ) Proof of Concept Prototype Development & Cyclotron Testing High Altitude Balloon Demos Sounding Rocket Demo ISS Demo Satellite Demo ( ) ( )( ) ( )( ) Timeline of Activity at MSU

Reconfigurable Computing Technical Readiness Level (TRL-9) Step 7 – Commercialize It License Agreement with 406 Aerospace, LLC, Bozeman, MT. 39

Reconfigurable Computing Collaborators Faculty & Scientists Todd Kaiser, MSU Electrical & Computer Engineering Department Ross Snider, MSU Electrical & Computer Engineering Department Hunter Lloyd, MSU Computer Science Department Robb Larson, MSU Mechanical & Industrial Engineering Department Angela Des Jardins, MSU Physics Department & MSGC Randy Larimer, MSU Electrical Engineering Department & MSGC Berk Knighton, MSU Chemistry Department & MSGC David Klumpar, MSU Physics Department & SSEL Larry Springer, MSU Physics Department & SSEL Ehson Mosleh, MSU Physics Department & SSEL Gary Crum, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Thomas Flatley, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Leroy Hardin, NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Kosta Varnavas, NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Andrew Keys, NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Robert Ray, NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Leigh Smith, NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Eric Eberly, NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Alan George, University of Florida & NSF Center for High Performance Reconfig Comp. 40

Reconfigurable Computing Students MSU Students…. 41

Reconfigurable Computing Thank You For Not Asking Questions 42

Reconfigurable Computing References Content “Space Transportation Costs: Trends in Price Per Pound to Orbit Fultron Inc Technical Report., September 6, Sammy Kayali, “Space Radiation Effects on Microelectronics”, JPL, [Available Online]: Holmes-Siedle & Adams, “Handbook of Radiation Effects”, 2 nd Edition, Oxford Press Thanh, Balk, “Elimination and Generation of Si-Si02 Interface Traps by Low Temperature Hydrogen Annealing”, Journal of Electrochemical Society on Solid-State Science and Technology, July Sturesson TEC-QEC, “Space Radiation and its Effects on EEE Components”, EPFL Space Center, June 9, [Available Online]: Lawrence T. Clark, Radiation Effects in SRAM: Design for Mitigation”, Arizona State University, [Available Online]: K. Iniewski, “Radiation Effects in Semiconductors”, CRC Press, Images If not noted, images provided by or MSUwww.nasa.gov Displacement Image 1: Moises Pinada, Displacement Image 2/3: Vacancy and divacancy (V-V) in a bubble raft. Source: University of Wisconsin-Madison SRAM Images: Kang and Leblebici, "CMOS Digital Integrated Circuits" 3rd Edition. McGraw Hill, 2003 SEB Images: Sturesson TEC-QEC, “Space Radiation and its Effects on EEE Components”, EPFL Space Center, June 9, FPGA Images: RHBD Images: Giovanni Anelli & Alessandro Marchioro, “The future of rad-tol electronics for HEP”, CERN, Experimental Physics Division, Microelectronics Group, [Available Online]: 43