A survey of fault tolerant methodologies for FPGAs

Abstract

A wide range of fault tolerance methods for FPGAs have been proposed. Approaches range from simple architectural redundancy to fully on-line adaptive implementations. The applications of these methods also differ; some are used only for manufacturing yield enhancement, while others can be used in-system. This survey attempts to provide an overview of the current state of the art for fault tolerance in FPGAs. It is assumed that faults have been previously detected and diagnosed; the methods presented are targeted towards tolerating the faults. A detailed description of each method is presented. Where applicable, the methods are compared using common metrics. Results are summarized to present a succinct, comprehensive comparison of the different approaches.