Optocouplers: Fundamentals and Hardness Assurance for Space Applications

Author

Johnston, A.H. ; Harris, R.D. ; Miyahira, T.F.

Author_Institution

Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Technol., Pasadena, CA, USA

Volume

56

Issue

6

fYear

2009

Firstpage

3310

Lastpage

3317

Abstract

Operating principles and hardness assurance methods are discussed for various types of optocouplers. Radiation damage in light-emitting diodes is addressed, along with the impact of phototransistors and internal amplifiers on overall performance. Hardness assurance for optocouplers is contrasted with the approach used for conventional microelectronics. Methods of detecting abnormal devices are discussed, along with the implementation of special screening measurements.

Keywords

aerospace instrumentation; amplifiers; light emitting diodes; phototransistors; radiation hardening (electronics); abnormal device detection; conventional microelectronics; hardness assurance methods; internal amplifiers; light-emitting diodes; operating principles; optocouplers; phototransistors; radiation damage; screening measurements; space applications; Degradation; Detectors; Light emitting diodes; MOSFETs; Optical amplifiers; Photoconductivity; Phototransistors; Protons; Radiation effects; Space technology; Displacement damage; hardness assurance; optocoupler; proton damage; space radiation effects;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Nuclear Science, IEEE Transactions on

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

0018-9499

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/TNS.2009.2033685

Filename

5341342