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Heavy Ion Induced Single-Event Latchup Screening of Integrated Circuits Using Commercial Off-the-Shelf Evaluation Boards Gregory R. Allen, Member, IEEE, Farokh Irom, Leif Scheick, Member, IEEE, Sergeh Vartanian, and Michael O’Connor Abstract— We present heavy ion single-event latchup (SEL) screening data for a variety of commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) devices intended for use on low-cost missions, and discuss the device preparation techniques used to expose the die for groundbased heavy-ion testing. Index Terms— commercial-off-the-shelf, single-event latchup, heavy ions.
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I. INTRODUCTION
HE use of state-of-the-art commercial integrated circuits (IC) in space systems is highly desirable as they can lead to significant improvement in system performance and capability. Additionally, there has been a shift in NASA and the aerospace community to develop CubeSat missions that often see the use of commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) components for their electronics. CubeSats often have limited budgets and tight schedules, and therefore the mission assurance requirements and test budgets scale accordingly. While mission assurance requirements are evolving for miniaturized satellites, one approach is to focus limited radiation test budgets on the most at-risk components along with devices that could end the mission if a failure occurred. Even though only a fraction of the devices go through groundbased testing compared to larger, more expensive missions, budgets are still tight and that has required a new approach to single-event effects (SEE) test development. This is especially true of single-event latchup (SEL) screening; the primary topic of this paper.
II. DEVICES TESTED A. Texas Instruments TPS54226 The TPS54226 is a synchronous buck converter. that enables system designers to complete the suite of various end Some of the work described herein was performed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology under contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) with funding from the NASA Electronics Parts Program (NEPP) and NASA ESR&T. The research was carried out at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under a contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration © 2016. California Institute of Technology. Government sponsorship acknowledged. G. R. Allen is with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory / California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91109 USA (telephone: 818-353-7558; fax: 818393-4559; e-mail: Gregory.r.allen@jpl.nasa.gov
equipment’s power bus regulators with a cost effective, low component count, low standby current solution. The TPS54226 also has a proprietary circuit that enables the device to adapt to both low equivalent series resistance (ESR) output capacitors, and ultra-low ESR ceramic capacitors. The device operates from 4.5-V to 18-V VCC input, and from 2-V to 18-V VIN input power supply voltage. The output voltage can be programmed between 0.76 V and 5.5 V. The device also features an adjustable slow start time and a power good function. The TPS54226 is available in the 14 pin HTSSOP or 16 pin QFN package, and designed to operate from –40°C to 85°C [1]. B. Linear Technology LT3845 The LT3845 is a high-voltage, synchronous, current mode controller used for medium to high power, high efficiency supplies. It offers a wide 4V to 60V input range (7.5V minimum start-up voltage). An onboard regulator simplifies the biasing requirements by providing IC power directly from VIN. Additional features include adjustable fixed operating frequency that can be synchronized to an external clock for noise sensitive applications, gate drivers capable of driving large N-channel MOSFETs, a precision under-voltage lockout, 10μA shutdown current, short-circuit protection and a programmable soft-start. The LT3845 is available in a 16-lead thermally enhanced TSSOP package and 16-pin through hole N package [2]. C. Linear Technology LTC3129 The LTC3129 is a high efficiency, 200mA buck-boost DC/DC converter with a wide VIN and VOUT range. It includes an accurate RUN pin threshold to allow predictable regulator turnon and a maximum power point control capability that ensures maximum power extraction from non-ideal power sources such as photovoltaic panels. F. Irom is with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory / California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91109 USA (telephone: 818-353-7558; fax: 818393-4559; e-mail: firom@jpl.nasa.gov L. Z. Scheick is with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory / California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91109 USA (telephone: 818-354-3273 fax: 818393-4559; e-mail: Lief.Z.Scheick@jpl.nasa.gov S. Vartanian is with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory / California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91109 USA (telephone: 818-354-0311; fax: 818393-4559; e-mail: Sergeh.Vartanian@jpl.nasa.gov M. O’Connor is with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory / California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91109 USA (telephone: 818-354-5595; fax: 818393-4459; e-mail: Michael.D.Oconnor@jpl.nasa.gov
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