Foreign comparative test of space qualified digital signal processors

The ADSP-21020 digital signal processor (DSP) was originally designed by Analog Devices Incorporated (ADI) for high performance audio and video signal processing functions in commercial applications. However, the same functionality is needed for military and space applications related to imaging and communications. Consequently, the original design was licensed to BAE Systems and Atmel Wireless and Microcontrollers for the development of radiation tolerant versions. Both companies presently offer the radiation tolerant parts for applications in space and missile systems. However, each company targeted a slightly different market segment and their products have different radiation hardness levels. The two companies specify the radiation hardness levels differently, and neither provides information on ionizing dose rate performance. The purpose of the work described in this paper was to develop and implement a radiation test methodology to characterize parts from each vendor in a common set of environments. The goal was to obtain a uniform set of data to permit direct comparison of response among the commercial and radiation tolerant devices from each vendor.