White Papers
As a leading authority on space technology, Maxwell Technologies offers a full library of whitepapers, authored or developed by our industry experts—and free to registered users. Check back often as we regularly add new white papers.
Designing A Single Board Computer For Space Using The Most Advanced Processor and Mitigation Technologies
As high-end computing becomes more of a necessity in space, there currently exists a large gap between what is available to satellite manufacturers and the state of the commercial processor industry. As a result, Maxwell Technologies has developed a Super Computer for Space that utilizes a combination of the latest commercial Silicon-on-Insulator PowerPC processors, state-of-the-art memory modules and radiation tolerant FPGA's to achieve space-qualified performance that is from 10 to 1000 times that of current technology. In addition, Maxwell’s Super Computer for Space (SCS750) SBC is capable of executing up to 1800+ millions of instruction per second (MIPS), while guaranteeing upset rates for the entire board of less then 1 every 1000 years. Presented is a brief synopsis of Maxwell’s single board computer design approach , radiation mitigation techniques and radiation test results employed on Maxwell’s next generation super computer for space.
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How Rad Hard Do You Need? The Changing Approach to Space Parts Selection
Traditional radiation hardened or "rad hard" parts are generally considered to be capable of withstanding the most severe space environments. In fact, these devices are designed and fabricated with the specific goal of enduring the harshest space radiation environments. And while they have tremendous radiation capabilities, these parts are more expensive and less advanced that today's commercially available components. As a result, the main customers for these ICs have generally been well-funded military and scientific entities. However, a migration from traditional rad hard components is currently underway, thanks to the commercialization of space.
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Single Event Latchup Protection Of Integrated Circuits
This paper reports the test results from the development of the single event latchup protection circuitry (referred to as Maxwell Technologies LPT™ technology) for several integrated circuits which are known to latchup at unacceptably low LET energies for space applications. Two devices were evaluated with LPT; the ADS7805 16 bit analog to digital converter and the GF10009 FPGA (Gatefield’s 9000 gate flash programmable gate array).
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Proton Transport: An examination of model and experimental data for space environments
Presented by Phil Layton at RADECS 1999, this paper examines modeling data for various orbits using modeling software (Space Radiation 4.0, SEA, and TRIM) and compare this with actual satellite flight results. In particular, we will discuss the effectiveness of shielding components from total ionizing dose due to trapped protons.
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Take a Hybrid Approach to Component Obsolescence
Courtesy of The RTC Group
With 20% of digital ICs and 10% of analog ICs going obsolete every year, program managers and purchasing agents are scrambling for replacement products or solutions that will allow their programs to continue - and in some cases, to get off the ground.
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TID Performance Degradation of High Precision, 16-bit Analog-to-Digital Converter
Presented at NSREC 2003, this paper examines the test data and analysis from three 16-bit analog-to-digital (A/D) converters that were evaluated for performance and linearity degradation due to the total dose induced shifts in the voltage reference.
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Compendia of TID and SEE Test Results of Space Qualified Integrated Circuits
Presented at NSREC 2003, this paper examines SEE and TID data taken for existing and potential space products. The data was collected to evaluate these devices for radiation effects in space environments.
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Evaluation of Reliability and Data Retention of an Irradiated Nonvolatile Memory
Presented at NSREC 2005, this paper examines the reliability of EEPROMs using large sampling of TID, data retention and life test data. This data was collected to evaluate the performance of memory in space environments.
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