Title :
Low dose failures of hardened DC-DC power converters
Author :
Lehman, J. ; Yui, C. ; Rax, B.G. ; Miyahira, T.F. ; Wiedeman, M. ; Schrock, P. ; Swift, G.M. ; Johnston, A.H. ; Kayali, S.
Author_Institution :
Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Technol., Pasadena, CA, USA
Abstract :
Radiation tests of Interpoint DC-DC converters, guaranteed by the manufacturer to 100 krad(Si), showed catastrophic failures at total dose levels as low as 4 krad(Si). Special diagnostic tests showed that failures were caused by an internal CMOS MOSFET driver chip being used in an application that differed from earlier radiation tests of the component. This paper discusses radiation testing, failure modes, and the method used to overcome this problem weeks prior to launch of two space systems.
Keywords :
CMOS integrated circuits; DC-DC power convertors; circuit reliability; circuit testing; driver circuits; failure analysis; power MOSFET; radiation effects; radiation hardening (electronics); space vehicle electronics; 100 krad; 4 krad; CMOS MOSFET driver chips; catastrophic converter failures; diagnostic failure tests; failure modes; hardened DC-DC power converter low dose failures; radiation tests; space systems; spacecraft electronics applications; total dose levels; DC-DC power converters; Degradation; MOSFET circuits; Manufacturing; Power MOSFET; Propulsion; Protons; Radiation hardening; Testing; Voltage;
Conference_Titel :
Radiation Effects Data Workshop, 2002 IEEE
Print_ISBN :
0-7803-7544-0
DOI :
10.1109/REDW.2002.1045539
