Single-event functional interrupt (SEFI)
Beginner
A particle hit that makes a chip freeze or act strangely until it is restarted.
Novice
A particle strike in a chip’s control circuits that makes it freeze or misbehave. A soft one clears with a reset or reload; a hard one needs the power switched off and on.
Expert
Often an upset in a state machine, a configuration register or test logic. Because it can raise supply current, it can look like latch-up on a tester, so telling them apart needs visibility into the chip’s internal state.
Explained in Space (Industries).