Traditionally, studies have primarily focused on single event effects in aerospace electronics. However, current research has confirmed that atmospheric neutrons can also induce single event effects in China’s advanced technology relay protection devices. Spallation neutron irradiation tests on a Loongson 2K1000 system-on-chip based relay protection device have revealed soft errors, including abnormal sampling, refusal of operation and interlock in the relay protection device. Given the absence of standardized evaluation methods for single event effects on relay protection devices, the following research emphasizes the use of Monte Carlo simulation and software fault injection. Various types of single event upsets, such as single bit upsets, dual bit upsets, and even eight bit upsets, were observed in Monte Carlo simulations where atmospheric neutrons hit the chip from different directions (top and bottom). The simulation results indicated that the single event effect sensitivity of the relay protection device was similar whether the neutron hit from the top or the bottom. Through software fault injection, the study also identified soft errors caused by neutron induced single event upsets on the Loongson 2K1000 system, including failure to execute, system halt, time out, and error result. And the soft error number of system halts and error results exceeded that of time outs and failures to execute in all three tested programs. This research represents a preliminary assessment of single event effects on relay protection devices and is expected to provide valuable insights for evaluating the reliability of advanced technology relay protection devices.

Relay protection devices must operate continuously throughout the year without anomalies. With the integration of advanced technology and process chips in secondary equipment, new risks need to be addressed to ensure the reliability of these relay protection devices. One such risk is the impact of α-particles inducing single event effects (SEEs) on the secondary equipment. To date, there has been limited assessment of the effects of α-particles on relay protection devices from a system perspective. This study evaluates the impact of SEE on relay protection devices through a Monte Carlo simulation, which is verified by α-particle radiation, fault injection, and fault tree analysis. It discusses the influence of SEEs with and without hardening measures in place. Additionally, this study examines the soft error probability when the target processor runs both general workloads and specific application workloads. The current research proposes a low-cost and effective reliability assessment method for secondary equipment considering single event effects. The findings provide new insights for the enhancement of future electric power grid systems.

Optical MOS solid-state relays provide electrical isolation and favorable switching performance, making them suitable as isolated switching interfaces for optoelectronic sensors used in radiation monitoring systems, high-energy physics accelerator monitoring systems, and aerospace electronic equipment. However, to the best of our knowledge, the reliability of this device under atmospheric-like neutron irradiation has not been systematically investigated. In this study, the neutron-induced degradation characteristics and potential physical mechanisms of a commercial optical MOS solid-state relay were systematically investigated through electrical characterization, Sentaurus TCAD mixed-mode simulation, and post-irradiation annealing experiments. Particular attention was paid to the possible internal coupling relationship between degradation of the internal photoelectric conversion unit and the increase in the off-state leakage current of the output-side power MOSFET.