Radiation-Hardened Electronics for Advanced Communications Systems

Abstract

Novel approach enables high-speed special-purpose processors Advanced reconfigurable and reprogrammable communication systems will require sub-130-nanometer electronics. Legacy single event upset (SEU) radiation-tolerant circuits are ineffective at speeds greater than 125 megahertz. In Phase I of this project, ICs, LLC, demonstrated new base-level logic circuits that provide SEU immunity for sub-130-nanometer high-speed circuits. In Phase II, the company developed an innovative self-restoring logic (SRL) circuit and a system approach that provides high-speed, SEU-tolerant solutions that are effective for sub-130-nanometer electronics scalable to at least 22-nanometer processes. The SRL system can be used in the design of NASA's next-generation special-purpose processors, especially reconfigurable communication processors.