Impact of Scaling Up the Sensor Sampling Frequency on the Reliability of Edge Processing Systems in Tolerating Soft Errors Caused by Neutrons

—In this letter, we reveal the impact of increasing the sensor sampling frequency on the reliability of a typical edge processing system operating under the effects of 14-MeV neutrons and thermal neutrons. The results of two types of accelerated radiation tests indicate the rates of failures induced by soft errors caused by 14-MeV and thermal neutrons grow as a function of the sensor sampling frequency. The rate of failures caused by 14-MeV neutrons rose by factor of 2.2 by shifting the sensor sampling frequency from around 140 to 430 Hz. The results also suggest that the design and calibration of edge processing systems should consider the sensor sampling frequency as a parameter to finely tradeoff the computing speed of the system for improving the reliability in tolerating soft errors caused by neutrons.