4 ms·
If the CPU exposes statistics from the internal cache ECC, I wonder if you could use that as a rough radiation sensor?
by caf 2y ago
If the CPU exposes statistics from the internal cache ECC, I wonder if you could use that as a rough radiation sensor?
- adrian_b 2y agoMost CPUs do not document the details of the cache controllers, so typically you cannot know when correctable errors happened. Only when non-correctable errors happen, which should be very seldom (e.g. less than one per year), the CPU generates a machine error exception, for which it can be identified that the cause was a (multiple-bit) error in one of the internal cache memories. Therefore you could sense only extremely-high radiation levels, which would also require a customized OS kernel to recover from exceptions without crashes. Such great radiation levels could be much easier detected with some discrete reverse-biased diodes, which are also easier to place wherever the radiation exists, keeping the microcontroller or whatever device records the radiation levels either away or shielded from the radiation.
- caf 2y agoYes, it was correctable errors I was thinking of. Not too surprising that they don't expose those statistics, I guess - it probably doesn't even count them.