Spacecraft radiation monitoring enabled by Teledyne device
ProductJuly 31, 2013
Alice Moss
Military Embedded Systems
The Micro Dosimeter (P/N UDOS001) from Teledyne Microelectronic Technologies in Los Angeles is a compact hybrid microcircuit that directly measures Total Ionizing Dose (TID) absorbed by an internal silicon test mass.
The Micro Dosimeter (P/N UDOS001) from Teledyne Microelectronic Technologies in Los Angeles is a compact hybrid microcircuit that directly measures Total Ionizing Dose (TID) absorbed by an internal silicon test mass. The test mass simulates silicon die of ICs onboard a host spacecraft in mission payloads and subsystems. The device monitors spacecraft radiation doses absorbed by other electronic devices on the same vehicle by measuring the energy absorbed from electrons, protons, and gamma rays. The 20 gram device is a custom microchip in a small-footprint package that provides lower weight and power than alternative devices.
The Teledyne device can be mounted in multiple locations on a spacecraft and can operate from a variety of input voltages – 10 mA from 13 V to 40 V. The accumulated dose is presented to three DC linear outputs and one pseudo-logarithmic output providing a dose resolution of 14 uRads and a measurement range as high as 40 kiloRads. The Teledyne product provides total mission dose and dose rate data to help diagnose spacecraft anomalies caused by changes in environmental fluxes. It also correlates environmental models and ray-tracing analyses with real in-flight measurements. Commercial, Class H, and Class K options are available.
