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NASA NTRS2006

Product Reliability Trends, Derating Considerations and Failure Mechanisms with Scaled CMOS

As microelectronics is scaled into the deep sub-micron regime, space and aerospace users of advanced technology CMOS are reassessing how scaling effects impact long-term product reliability. The effects of electromigration (EM), time-dependent-dielectric-breakdown (TDDB) and hot carrier degradation (HCI and NBTI) wearout mechanisms on scaled technologies and product reliability are investigated, accelerated stress testing across several technology nodes is performed, and FA is conducted to confirm the failure mechanism(s).

CMOS integrated circuits↗

NASA NTRS1988

Fiber optics for advanced aircraft

The increased use of composites makes the digital control more susceptible to electromagnetic effects. In order to provide the protection to the digital control additional shielding will be required as well as protective circuitry for the electronics. This results in increased weight and reduced reliability. The advantages that fiber optic technology provides for advanced aircraft applications is recognized. The use of optical signals to carry information between the aircraft and the control module provides immunity from contamination by electromagnetic sources as well as other important benefits such as reduced weight and volume resulting from the elimination of the shielding and the replacement of metal conductors with low weight glass fibers. In 1975 NASA began work to develop passive optical sensors for use with fiber optics in aircraft control systems. The problem now is to choose the best optical sensor concepts and evaluate them for use. In 1985 NASA and DOD entered into a joint program, Fiber Optic Control System Integration (FOCSI), to look at optical technology specifically for use in advanced aircraft systems. The results of this program are discussed. The conclusion of the study indicated that the use of fiber optic technology in advanced aircraft systems is feasible and desirable. The study pointed to a lack of available sensors from vendors capable of operating in the adverse environments of advanced aircraft.

Baumbick, Robert J.↗

NASA NTRS1989

Fiber optics for advanced aircraft

Baumbick, Robert J.↗

NASA NTRS2015

Human Factors and Habitability Challenges for Mars Missions

As NASA is planning to send humans deeper into space than ever before, adequate crew health and performance will be critical for mission success. Within the NASA Human Research Program (HRP), the Space Human Factors and Habitability (SHFH) team is responsible for characterizing the risks associated with human capabilities and limitations with respect to long-duration spaceflight, and for providing mitigations (e.g., guidelines, technologies, and tools) to promote safe, reliable and productive missions. SHFH research includes three domains: Advanced Environmental Health (AEH), Advanced Food Technology (AFT), and Space Human Factors Engineering (SHFE). The AEH portfolio focuses on understanding the risk of microbial contamination of the spacecraft and on the development of standards for exposure to potential toxins such as chemicals, bacteria, fungus, and lunar/Martian dust. The two risks that the environmental health project focuses on are adverse health effects due to changes in host-microbe interactions, and risks associated with exposure to dust in planetary surface habitats. This portfolio also proposes countermeasures to these risks by making recommendations that relate to requirements for environmental quality, foods, and crew health on spacecraft and space missions. The AFT portfolio focuses on reducing the mass, volume, and waste of the entire integrated food system to be used in exploration missions, and investigating processing methods to extend the shelf life of food items up to five years, while assuring that exploration crews will have nutritious and palatable foods. The portfolio also delivers improvements in both the food itself and the technologies for storing and preparing it. SHFE sponsors research to establish human factors and habitability standards and guidelines in five risk areas, and provides improved design concepts for advanced crew interfaces and habitability systems. These risk areas include: Incompatible vehicle/habitat design, inadequate human-computer interaction, inadequate critical task design, inadequate human-automation/robotic interaction, and performance errors due to training deficiencies. To address the identified research gaps within each risk, SHFH's research plan includes studies in the laboratory, in analogs, and on International Space Station (ISS). In addition to establishing and maintaining the risk-based research portfolio, SHFH is also implementing a qualitative approach to determine how we at NASA evaluate human performance. Via interviews with experts, such as trainers, flight controllers, and flight surgeons, we are collecting the metrics by which they assess human performance, evidence of performance issues, and potential or actual consequences. The Human Performance Data Project will determine what human performance data have been collected in the past at NASA, and what data should be collected in the future in order to complete our knowledgebase and reduce risks related to human factors and habitability.

Whitmore, Mihriban↗

NASA NTRS1970

Reliability in long-life missions

Long life spacecraft design and reliability based on marine practices and advanced system technology project, considering grand tour outer planets mission

Draper, R. F.↗

NASA NTRS1989

Stable isotope laser spectroscopy

Recent advances in semiconductor laser technology have produced a reliable lightweight device ideally suited for a spacecraft high resolution molecular spectrometer. Lead-salt tunable diode lasers (TDL) emit in several spectral modes, each with a very narrow linewidth of -0.0003/cm. This spectral resolution is much narrower than typical Doppler broadened molecular linewidths in the mid-IR range. Thus it is possible to detect individual rotational lines within the vibrational band and measure their intensity, which can be used to determine gas concentration. The narrow spectral lines of any impurity gas tend to lie between the narrow lines of the gas of interest. This represents a major advantage over the accepted gas chromatograph mass spectrometer (GCMS) technique for measuring gas concentrations and isotope ratios. The careful and extensive gas purification procedures required to remove impurities for reliable GCMS measurements will not be required for an IR laser gas analysis. The infrared laser gas analysis technique is being developed to measure stable isotopic ratios of gases such as CO2, CH4, N2O, and NH3. This will eventually lead to development of instruments capable of in situ istopic measurements on planets such as Mars. The carbon (C-12, C-13) isotope ratio is indicative of the type of carbon fixation mechanisms (e.g., photosynthesis, respiration) in operation on a planet, while the nitrogen (N-14, N-15) isotope ratio can probably be used to date nitrogen-bearing Martian samples. The absorbance ratio of two adjacent lines of CO2 in the 2300/cm (4.3 micron) region of the spectrum was measured. The precision of the measurement is presently better than 1 percent and significant improvement is anticipated as rapid sweep-integration techniques and computer controlled data acquistion capabilities are incorporated.

Becker, J. F.↗

NASA NTRS1993

Status of the Fiber Optic Control System Integration (FOCSI) program

This report presents a discussion of the progress made in the NASA/NAVY Fiber Optic Control System Integration (FOCSI) program. This program will culminate in open-loop flight tests of passive optical sensors and associated electro-optics on an F-18 aircraft. Currently, the program is in the final stages of hardware fabrication and environmental testing of the passive optical sensors and electro-optics. This program is a foundation for future Fly-by-Light (FBL) programs. The term Fly-by-Light is used to describe the utilization of passive optical sensors and fiber optic data links for monitoring and control of aircraft in which sensor and actuation signals are transmitted optically. The benefits of this technology for advanced aircraft include the following: improved reliability and reduced certification cost due to greater immunity to EME (electromagnetic effects); reduced harness volume and weight; elimination of short circuits and sparking in wiring due to insulation deterioration; lower maintenance costs (fewer components); greater flexibility in data bus protocol and architecture; absence of ground loops; and higher operating temperatures for electrically passive optical sensors.

Baumbick, Robert J.↗

NASA NTRS1994

Design of a wheeled articulating land rover

The WALRUS is a wheeled articulating land rover that will provide Ames Research Center with a reliable, autonomous vehicle for demonstrating and evaluating advanced technologies. The vehicle is one component of the Ames Research Center's on-going Human Exploration Demonstration Project. Ames Research Center requested a system capable of traversing a broad spectrum of surface types and obstacles. In addition, this vehicle must have an autonomous navigation and control system on board and its own source of power. The resulting design is a rover that articulates in two planes of motion to allow for increased mobility and stability. The rover is driven by six conical shaped aluminum wheels, each with an independent, internally coupled motor. Mounted on the rover are two housings and a removable remote control system. In the housings, the motor controller board, tilt sensor, navigation circuitry, and QED board are mounted. Finally, the rover's motors and electronics are powered by thirty C-cell rechargeable batteries, which are located in the rover wheels and recharged by a specially designed battery charger.

Stauffer, Larry↗

NASA NTRS2002

Evaluation of Data Retention and Imprint Characteristics of FRAMs Under Environmental Stresses for NASA Applications

A major reliability issue for all advanced nonvolatile memory (NVM) technology devices including FRAMs is the data retention characteristics over extended period of time, under environmental stresses and exposure to total ionizing dose (TID) radiation effects. For this testing, 256 Kb FRAMs in 28-pin plastic DIPS, rated for industrial grade temperature range of -40 C to +85 C, were procured. These are two-transistor, two-capacitor (2T-2C) design FRAMs. In addition to data retention characteristics, the parts were also evaluated for imprint failures, which are defined as the failure of cells to change from a "preferred" state, where it has been for a significant period of time to an opposite state (e.g., from 1 to 0, or 0 to 1). These 256 K FRAMs were subjected to scanning acoustic microscopy (C-SAM); 1,000 temperature cycles from -65 C to +150 C; high temperature aging at 150 C, 175 C, and 200 C for 1,000 hours; highly accelerated stress test (HAST) for 500 hours; 1,000 hours of operational life test at 125 C; and total ionizing dose radiation testing. As a preconditioning, 10 K read/write cycles were performed on all devices. Interim electrical measurements were performed throughout this characterization, including special imprint testing and final electrical testing. Some failures were observed during high temperature aging test at 200 C, during HAST testing, and during 1,000 hours of operational life at 125 C. The parts passed 10 Krad exposure, but began showing power supply current increases during the dose increment from 10 Krad to 30 Krad, and at 40 Krad severe data retention and parametric failures were observed. Failures from various environmental group testing are currently being analyzed.

Sharma, Asbok K.↗

NASA NTRS2000

Evaluation of Data Retention and Imprint Characteristics of FRAMs Under Environmental Stresses for NASA Applications

A major reliability issue for all advanced nonvolatile memory (NVM) technology devices including FRAMs (Ferroelectric random access memories) is the data retention characteristics over extended period of time, under environmental stresses and exposure to total ionizing dose (TID) radiation effects. For this testing, 256 Kb FRAMs in 28-pin plastic DIPS, rated for industrial grade temperature range of -40 C to +85 C, were procured. These are two-transistor, two-capacitor (2T-2C) design FRAMs. In addition to data retention characteristics, the parts were also evaluated for imprint failures, which are defined as the failure of cells to change from a "preferred" state, where it has been for a significant period of time to an opposite state (e.g., from 1 to 0, or 0 to 1). These 256 K FRAMs were subjected to scanning acoustic microscopy (C-SAM); 1,000 temperature cycles from -65 C to +150 C; high temperature aging at 150 C, 175 C, and 200 C for 1,000 hours; highly accelerated stress test (HAST) for 500 hours; 1,000 hours of operational life test at 125 C; and total ionizing dose radiation testing. As a preconditioning, 10 K read/write cycles were performed on all devices. Interim electrical measurements were performed throughout this characterization, including special imprint testing and final electrical testing. Some failures were observed during high temperature aging test at 200 C, during HAST testing, and during 1,000 hours of operational life at 125 C. The parts passed 10 Krad exposure, but began showing power supply current increases during the dose increment from 10 Krad to 30 Krad, and at 40 Krad severe data retention and parametric failures were observed. Failures from various environmental group testing are currently being analyzed.

Sharma, Ashok K.↗

NASA NTRS2012

Robust, Rework-able Thermal Electronic Packaging: Applications in High Power TR Modules for Space

The higher output power densities required of modern radar architectures, such as the proposed DESDynI [Deformation, Ecosystem Structure, and Dynamics of Ice] SAR [Synthetic Aperture Radar] Instrument (or DSI) require increasingly dense high power electronics. To enable these higher power densities, while maintaining or even improving hardware reliability, requires improvements in integrating advanced thermal packaging technologies into radar transmit/receive (TR) modules. New materials and techniques have been studied and are now being implemented side-by-side with more standard technology typically used in flight hardware.

Hoffman, James Patrick↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Advanced eLectrical Bus (ALBus) CubeSat: From Build to Flight

The Advanced eLectrical Bus (ALBus) CubeSat project is a technology demonstration mission of a 3-U CubeSat with an advanced, digitally controlled electrical power system capability and novel use of Shape Memory Alloy (SMA) technology for reliable deployable solar array mechanisms. The objective of the project was to advance the state of power management and distribution (PMAD) capabilities to enable future missions requiring flexible and reliable power systems with higher output power capabilities. The goals of the mission were to demonstrate 100W distribution to a target electrical load, respond to continuous and fast transient power requirements, and show reliable deployment of solar arrays and antennas utilizing re-settable SMA mechanisms. The power distribution function of the ALBus PMAD system is unique in the total power to target load capability. Power is distributed from batteries to provide 100W of power directly to a resistive load. The deployable solar arrays utilize NASA Glenn Research Center’s Nickel-Titanium-Palladium-Platinum high-temperature SMAs for the retention and release mechanism, and a super-elastic binary NiTi alloy for the hinge component. The deployable solar array hinge design features the utilization of SMA material properties for a dual purpose. First, the hinge uses the super-elastic SMA properties to provide the spring force to deploy the arrays. Second, the electrical conductivity properties of the SMA enables the design to provide clean conduits for power transfer from the deployable arrays to the power management system. This eliminates the need for electrical harnesses between the arrays and the PMAD system in the ALBus system design. The uniqueness of the SMA retention and release mechanism design is the ability to reset the mechanism and reuse the same hardware. This allow functional tests of the mechanisms before flight with no degradation of performance and flying the hardware that is tested. The project launched as part of the CubeSat Launch Initiative Educational Launch of Nanosatellites (ELaNa) XIX mission on Rocket Lab’s Electron in December 2018. This paper summarizes the final launched design of ALBus and lessons learned from the technology and overall project from development through flight.

Deboshri Sadhukhan↗

NASA NTRS2004

Physics in NASA Exploration

The primary focus of the workshop was NASA's new concentration on sending crewed missions to the Moon by 2020, and then on to Mars and beyond. Several speakers, including JPL s Fred O Callaghan and NASA's Mark Lee, broached the problem that there is now a serious reduction of capability to perform experiments in the ISS, or to fly significant mass in microgravity by other means. By 2010, the shuttle fleet will be discontinued and Russian craft will provide the only access to the ISS. O Callaghan stated that the Fundamental Physics budget is being reduced by 70%. LTMPF and LCAP are slated for termination. However, ground-based experiments are continuing to be funded at present, and it will be possible to compete for $80-90 million in new money from the Human Research Initiative (HRI). The new program thrust is for exploration, not fundamental physics. Fundamental, we were told by Lee, does not ring well in Washington these days. Investigators were advised to consider how their work can benefit missions to the Moon and Mars. Work such as that regarding atomic clocks is looked upon with favor, for example, because it is considered important to navigation and planetary GPS. Mark Lee stressed that physicists must convey to NASA senior management that they are able and willing to contribute to the new exploration research programs. The new mentality must be we deliver products, not do research. This program needs to be able to say that it is doing at least 50% exploration-related research. JPL s Ulf Israelsson discussed the implications to OBPR, which will deliver methods and technology to assure human health and performance in extraterrestrial settings. The enterprise will provide advanced life-support systems and technology that are reliable, capable, simpler, less massive, smaller, and energy-efficient, and it may offer other necessary expertise in areas such as low-gravity behavior. Like Dr. Lee, he stated that the focus must be on products, not research. While there is not yet a formal direction, he said, LTMPF and PARCS ISS flight projects are slated to terminate in October 2004. All flight investigations are being returned to ground programs and phased out by the end of FY07. Physics ground programs are intact for now, but to survive we must shift about 50% of research to supporting exploration. Basic research programs in other disciplines are being cancelled. Product lines will support human health, safety and life-support, including countermeasures against radiation and other hazards, as well as advances in time-keeping, navigation and communications technologies. Israelsson said that the new Fundamental Physics for Exploration Roadmap points to how fundamental physics research can and does support exploration. JPL will use the roadmap to argue for support for fundamental physics research under several codes. Nicholas Bigelow of the University of Rochester encouraged attendees not to become discouraged, but rather to embrace the opportunities presented by NASA's new direction.

O'Callaghan, Fred↗

NASA NTRS1989

Power conditioning techniques

The technological developments required to reduce the electrical power system component weights from the state-of-the-art 2.0 kg/kW to the range of 0.1 to 0.2 kg/kW are discussed. Power level requirements and their trends in aerospace applications are identified and presented. The projected weight and launch costs for a 1MW power converter built using state-of-the-art technology are established to illustrate the need for reliable, ultralightweight advanced power components. The key factors affecting converter weight are given and some of the tradeoffs between component ratings and circuit topology are identified. The weight and launch costs for a 1MW converter using 0.1 kg/kW technology are presented. Finally, the objectives and goals of the Multi-Megawatt Program at the NASA Lewis Research Center, which is funded by the SDIO through the Air Force, are given.

Baumann, E. D.↗

NASA NTRS2004

Advanced Electrical Materials and Components Being Developed

All aerospace systems require power management and distribution (PMAD) between the energy and power source and the loads. The PMAD subsystem can be broadly described as the conditioning and control of unregulated power from the energy source and its transmission to a power bus for distribution to the intended loads. All power and control circuits for PMAD require electrical components for switching, energy storage, voltage-to-current transformation, filtering, regulation, protection, and isolation. Advanced electrical materials and component development technology is a key technology to increasing the power density, efficiency, reliability, and operating temperature of the PMAD. The primary means to develop advanced electrical components is to develop new and/or significantly improved electronic materials for capacitors, magnetic components, and semiconductor switches and diodes. The next important step is to develop the processing techniques to fabricate electrical and electronic components that exceed the specifications of presently available state-of-the-art components. The NASA Glenn Research Center's advanced electrical materials and component development technology task is focused on the following three areas: 1) New and/or improved dielectric materials for the development of power capacitors with increased capacitance volumetric efficiency, energy density, and operating temperature; 2) New and/or improved high-frequency, high-temperature soft magnetic materials for the development of transformers and inductors with increased power density, energy density, electrical efficiency, and operating temperature; 3) Packaged high-temperature, high-power density, high-voltage, and low-loss SiC diodes and switches.

Schwarze, Gene E.↗

NASA NTRS2023

ChIPPS: Charged Information-storage Polymer Preparation System

Technological advances are required to support principal science objectives of missions to the solar system’s icy worlds to seek biosignatures of past/extant life. Sensitivity and reliability are key concerns due to small sample sizes (µL – mL) and the extraordinary import of the results. The preparation and processing of small samples can constrain limits of detection (LoDs); therefore, the Charged Information-storage Polymer Preparation System (ChIPPS) project is advancing the technologies of autonomous sample preparation and processing to add a new class of reliably detectable biosignatures: charged polymers and particles, which can be the information storage-and-transmission means for life. Specifically, we are developing an integrated microfluidic sample-processing unit to prepare icy-world samples to support complementary solid-state nanopore-based analyses: 1) charged-polymer analysis, to characterize variations in polymer chain size, shape, and charge vs. position along the chain; 2) polymer and nanoparticle sizing-and-counting, to characterize the relative abundance of polymer chains, as well as small (virus-sized) particles, by their dimensions and charge. Although no such autonomous system presently exists, such measurements can reveal the nature and abundance of charged polymers that could be used by biological systems to store and transfer information—as DNA and RNA are used terrestrially—without limitation to terrestrial nucleic acids, given that life elsewhere may utilize different information store-and-transfer moieties. Key system components include (a) a lysis unit for mechanical sample disruption; b) an ion-exchange column for charged macromolecule/nanoparticle purification; c) dialyzer to remove excess salt; d) concentrator to enhance signal; e) supporting pumps, valves, bubble traps, connectors, filters, etc.; f) interface to nanopore detection instruments.

Space Biology↗

NASA NTRS2000

A Reliable Earth Return System for Safe Recovery of Mars Samples

The objective of a Mars sample return mission is to bring selected Mars surface materials to Earth. Numerous approaches for the Earth-return segment have been analyzed including propulsive or aerocapture return to low-Earth orbit followed by Space Shuttle rendezvous and direct entry. Of these approaches, ballistic entry of a small capsule terminating in a ground landing has been shown to be the lowest risk strategy. Over the past two years, significant work has been performed towards development of a robust direct entry vehicle for Mars sample return. In June 1999, the NASA Planetary Protection Officer provided initial guidance to the former Mars Sample Return Project. The sample return phase of the mission was assigned a restricted Earth return planetary protection classification. The draft mission requirement states that the total mean probability of release of unsterilized Mars material into the Earth;s biosphere must be less than 1.0E-06 (1 in a million). This strict requirement drives the approach and design of the Earth return system. To meet this requirement, selection of the Earth return strategy and development of the Earth return system must be guided by risk, not performance, based decisions. An initial Probabilistic Risk Assessment (PRA) was performed to address the direct entry Earth return system containment assurance reliability and to identify high-risk elements of this system. The results of this PRA identified risk elements that include thermal protection system performance during entry, spin-eject orientation and aerodynamic stability during entry, structural integrity under atmospheric deceleration and impact loads, and tracking/recovery of this system. This initial probabilistic risk quantification demonstrates that, with the proper development program, a prototypical direct entry design can satisfy the containment assurance reliability requirement. Through the current Mars Sample Return Advanced Technology Development effort, an extensive design, analysis, and test program is presently proceeding with the aim of reducing the containment assurance risk of this system. This technology development effort, guided by a continuing PRA, focuses on key risk areas of a direct entry Earth return system including: the thermal protection system, impact dynamics, structural performance, aerodynamic stability, and ground recovery. This development program will culminate in a system validation flight test, 1-2 years prior to launch of the flight system. This flight test would include the launch, entry, and recovery of a full-scale Earth return system, as a scientific validation of the key risk elements to verify nominal design performance. The results of the initial PRA suggested several dominant failure sequences that can be validated in a flight test. These include: demonstrating the thermal protection system reliability and performance during entry, demonstrating the spin-eject orientation and aero-dynamic stability during entry, demonstrating the structural integrity under atmospheric deceleration and impact loads, and demonstrating tracking and recovery of the Earth return system. This single test will directly address over 50% of the total containment assurance risk elements. This presentation will begin by presenting the relative risk of various Earth return strategies. The results of the initial probabilistic risk assessment will be presented followed by a discussion of the development accomplishments and plans for demonstration of a highly reliable direct entry Earth return system.

Braun, R.↗

NASA NTRS2002

Low Temperature Regenerators for Zero Boil-Off Liquid Hydrogen Pulse Tube Cryocoolers

Recently, a great deal of attention has been focused on zero boil-off (ZBO) propellant storage as a means of minimizing the launch mass required for long-term exploration missions. A key component of ZBO systems is the cooler. Pulse tube coolers offer the advantage of zero moving mass at the cold head, and recent advances in lightweight, high efficiency cooler technology have paved the way for reliable liquid oxygen (LOx) temperature coolers to be developed which are suitable for flight ZBO systems. Liquid hydrogen (LH2) systems, however, are another matter. For ZBO liquid hydrogen systems, cooling powers of 1-5 watts are required at 20 K. The final development from tier for these coolers is to achieve high efficiency and reliability at lower operating temperatures. Most of the life-limiting issues of flight Stirling and pulse tube coolers are associated with contamination, drive mechanisms, and drive electronics. These problems are well in hand in the present generation coolers. The remaining efficiency and reliability issues reside with the low temperature regenerators. This paper will discuss advances to be made in regenerators for pulse tube LH2 ZBO coolers, present some historical background, and discuss recent progress in regenerator technology development using alloys of erbium.

Salerno, Louis J.↗