Fault Tolerant Structure for SRAM-based FPGA via Partial Dynamic Reconfiguration

In this paper, activities which aim at developing a methodology of fault tolerant systems design into SRAM-based FPGA platforms with different types of diagnostic approaches are presented. Basic principles of partial dynamic reconfiguration are described together with their impact on the fault tolerance of the digital design in FPGA. A generic controller for driving dynamic reconfiguration process of faulty unit is demonstrated and analyzed. Parameters of the generic partial reconfiguration controller are experimentally verified. The developed controller is compared with other approaches based on micro-controllers inside FPGA. A structure which can be used in fault tolerant system design into SRAM-based FPGA using partial reconfiguration controller is then described. The presented structure is proven fully functional on the ML506 development board for different types of RTL components.