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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2008

Total Dose Effects on Single Event Transients in Linear Bipolar Systems

Single Event Transients (SETs) originating in linear bipolar integrated circuits are known to undermine the reliability of electronic systems operating in the radiation environment of space. Ionizing particle radiation produces a variety of SETs in linear bipolar circuits. The extent to which these SETs threaten system reliability depends on both their shapes (amplitude and width) and their threshold energies. In general, SETs with large amplitudes and widths are the most likely to propagate from a bipolar circuit's output through a subsystem. The danger these SET pose is that, if they become latched in a follow-on circuit, they could cause an erroneous system response. Long-term exposure of linear bipolar circuits to particle radiation produces total ionizing dose (TID) and/or displacement damage dose (DDD) effects that are characterized by a gradual degradation in some of the circuit's electrical parameters. For example, an operational amplifier's gain-bandwidth product is reduced by exposure to ionizing radiation, and it is this reduction that contributes to the distortion of the SET shapes. In this paper, we compare SETs produced in a pristine LM124 operational amplifier with those produced in one exposed to ionizing radiation for three different operating configurations - voltage follower (VF), inverter with gain (IWG), and non-inverter with gain (NIWG). Each configuration produces a unique set of transient shapes that change following exposure to ionizing radiation. An important finding is that the changes depend on operating configuration; some SETs decrease in amplitude, some remain relatively unchanged, some become narrower and some become broader.

Buchner, Stephen↗
NASA NTRS2007

Total Dose Effects on Error Rates in Linear Bipolar Systems

The shapes of single event transients in linear bipolar circuits are distorted by exposure to total ionizing dose radiation. Some transients become broader and others become narrower. Such distortions may affect SET system error rates in a radiation environment. If the transients are broadened by TID, the error rate could increase during the course of a mission, a possibility that has implications for hardness assurance.

Buchner, Stephen↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Decreasing Proton Single Event Effects in CubeSats with Shielding

Shields-1, NORAD ID 43850,has been operating in polar low earth orbit since December 2018. The shielding has resulted in a lower total ionizing dose over time than typical aluminum thin-walled CubeSat structures. The reduced ionizing dosage caused by Shields-1 increases the reliability of commercial parts and reduces internal charging. Furthermore, the Shields-1 shielding reduces the ionizing particle fluence inside the spacecraft that contributes to the ionizing dose. NOVICE Sigma shielding software, using the (Aerospace Proton) AP8 –(Aerospace Electron) AE8 solar minimum trapped belt environment for a 1-year mission, estimates a 21.3 g/cm2 aluminum effective shielding for the Shields-1 electronics enclosure. This high areal density reduces not only the total number of energetic protons, but also reduces the number of ionizing particles over all modeled energies from the estimated shielded fluence for a 1-year mission. NOVICE Adjoint CAD modeling of the Shields-1 structure, with the detector located within the electronics enclosure, estimates that the total number of particles is reduced from 2.20x 10exp9 protons/cm2 to 1.52x 10exp8 protons/cm2, which represents 6.90% of the remaining particles(figure 1). By slowing down approximations of the integral proton fluence, a minimum proton threshold is estimated at 151 MeV. In comparison, a 0.204-cm aluminum thin-walled 3-unit (U) structure, with a 0.907 g/cm2 effective shielding, has 25.0% remaining particles and a minimum proton threshold of 36.2 MeV(figure 1). Proton energies that contribute to single event effects in radiation tolerant or higher semiconductor hardness are typically 100 MeV and higher. The Shields-1 electronics enclosure is estimated to attenuate energies: 100 MeV by 76.5%, 200 MeV by 61.7%, and 500 MeV by 63.0%(figure 2), when comparing the space environment proton differential fluence with the shielded differential fluence. The aluminum thin-walled structure is estimated to attenuate proton energies: 100 MeV by 13.7%, 200 MeV by 12.4%, and 500 MeV by 12.6%(figure 2), which are lower than for the Shields-1 electronics enclosure. The significant differences in attenuation between the Shields-1 electronics enclosure and aluminum thin-walled 3U structure show the additional utility of increasing shielding effectiveness for reducing the numbers of energetic protons that contribute to single event effects.

Larry Thomsen↗
NASA NTRS1990

Using advanced microelectronic test chips to qualify ASIC's for space

Qualification procedures for complex integrated circuits are being developed under a U.S. government program known as Qualified Manufacturing Lines (QML). This effort is focused on circuits designed by IC manufacturers and has not addressed application specific IC's (ASIC's) designed at system houses. The qualification procedures described here are intended to be responsive to the needs of system houses who design their own ASIC's and have them fabricated at Silicon foundries. A particular focus of this presentation will be the use of the TID (total Ionizing Dose) Chip to evaluate CMOS foundry processes and to provide parameters for circuit simulators. This chip is under development as a standard chip for qualifying the total dose aspects of ASIC's. The benefits of standardization are that the results will be well understood and easy to interpret. Data is presented and compared for 1.6 micron and 3.0 micron CMOS. The data shows that 1.6 micron CMOS is significantly harder than 3.0 micron CMOS. Two failure modes are explored: (1) the radiation-induced degradation of timing delays; and (2) radiation-induced leakage currents.

Buehler, M. G.↗
NASA NTRS2019

Investigating the Effects of Gamma Radiation on Selected Chemicals for Use in Biosignature Detection Instruments on the Surface of Jupiter's Moon Europa

Jupiter's moon Europa is a prime target for the search for potential signs of life in the solar system. The Europa Lander Science Definition Team Report outlined investigations and measurement requirements on a future Europa Lander and has led us to consider application of powerful techniques such as pyrolysis and derivatization gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and laser desorption mass spectrometry (LD-MS) to elucidate the organic composition of near-surface ice and minerals. Definitive identification of chemical biosignatures using such techniques is strongly enabled by the use of various chemicals, such as perfluorotributylamine (PFTBA) for the MS calibration, α-cyano-hydroxycinnamic acid (CHCA) for matrix-assisted laser desorption and ionization (MALDI) and N,N-dimethylformamide dimethyl acetal (DMF-DMA), N-tert-butyldimethylsilyl-N-methyltrifluoroacetamide (MTBSTFA) and tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAH) for wet chemistry GC-MS protocols. The jovian radiation environment is known to represent a uniquely challenging risk to mission performance and lifetime, principally due to high radiation levels. To assess the potential ionizing radiation damage to these important chemicals, we tested their effectiveness following gamma radiation exposure doses up to the anticipated Europa Lander rating requirement of 300 krad(Si). The chemicals were sealed in glass ampules under vacuum (<10 mTorr), to reduce trapped oxygen gas, as the oxidation by O2 may be enhanced in the presence of radiation. We report that all five chemicals exposed to total ionizing doses of 0, 150 and 300 krad(Si) maintained their full effectiveness, and no significant degradation was observed.

Radiation↗
NASA NTRS1982

Total-dose radiation effects data for semiconductor devices, volume 3

Volume 3 of this three-volume set provides a detailed analysis of the data in Volumes 1 and 2, most of which was generated for the Galileo Orbiter Program in support of NASA space programs. Volume 1 includes total ionizing dose radiation test data on diodes, bipolar transistors, field effect transistors, and miscellaneous discrete solid-state devices. Volume 2 includes similar data on integrated circuits and a few large-scale integrated circuits. The data of Volumes 1 and 2 are combined in graphic format in Volume 3 to provide a comparison of radiation sensitivities of devices of a given type and different manufacturer, a comparison of multiple tests for a single data code, a comparison of multiple tests for a single lot, and a comparison of radiation sensitivities vs time (date codes). All data were generated using a steady-state 2.5-MeV electron source (Dynamitron) or a Cobalt-60 gamma ray source. The data that compose Volume 3 represent 26 different device types, 224 tests, and a total of 1040 devices. A comparison of the effects of steady-state electrons and Cobat-60 gamma rays is also presented.

Price, W. E.↗
NASA NTRS2015

Shields-1, A SmallSat Radiation Shielding Technology Demonstration

The NASA Langley Research Center Shields CubeSat initiative is to develop a configurable platform that would allow lower cost access to Space for materials durability experiments, and to foster a pathway for both emerging and commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) radiation shielding technologies to gain spaceflight heritage in a relevant environment. The Shields-1 will be Langleys' first CubeSat platform to carry out this mission. Radiation shielding tests on Shields-1 are planned for the expected severe radiation environment in a geotransfer orbit (GTO), where advertised commercial rideshare opportunities and CubeSat missions exist, such as Exploration Mission 1 (EM-1). To meet this objective, atomic number (Z) graded radiation shields (Zshields) have been developed. The Z-shield properties have been estimated, using the Space Environment Information System (SPENVIS) radiation shielding computational modeling, to have ~30% increased shielding effectiveness of electrons, at half the thickness of a corresponding single layer of aluminum. The Shields-1 research payload will be made with the Z-graded radiation shields of varying thicknesses to create dose-depth curves to be compared with baseline materials. Additionally, Shields-1 demonstrates an engineered Z-grade radiation shielding vault protecting the systems' electronic boards. The radiation shielding materials' performances will be characterized using total ionizing dose sensors. Completion of these experiments is expected to raise the technology readiness levels (TRLs) of the tested atomic number (Z) graded materials. The most significant contribution of the Z-shields for the SmallSat community will be that it enables cost effective shielding for small satellite systems, with significant volume constraints, while increasing the operational lifetime of ionizing radiation sensitive components. These results are anticipated to increase the development of CubeSat hardware design for increased mission lifetimes, and enable out of low earth orbit (LEO) missions by using these tested material concepts as shielding for sensitive components and new spaceflight hardware

Thomsen, D. Laurence, III↗
NASA NTRS2011

A Deterministic Electron, Photon, Proton and Heavy Ion Radiation Transport Suite for the Study of the Jovian System

A deterministic suite of radiation transport codes, developed at NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC), which describe the transport of electrons, photons, protons, and heavy ions in condensed media is used to simulate exposures from spectral distributions typical of electrons, protons and carbon-oxygen-sulfur (C-O-S) trapped heavy ions in the Jovian radiation environment. The particle transport suite consists of a coupled electron and photon deterministic transport algorithm (CEPTRN) and a coupled light particle and heavy ion deterministic transport algorithm (HZETRN). The primary purpose for the development of the transport suite is to provide a means for the spacecraft design community to rapidly perform numerous repetitive calculations essential for electron, proton and heavy ion radiation exposure assessments in complex space structures. In this paper, the radiation environment of the Galilean satellite Europa is used as a representative boundary condition to show the capabilities of the transport suite. While the transport suite can directly access the output electron spectra of the Jovian environment as generated by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) Galileo Interim Radiation Electron (GIRE) model of 2003; for the sake of relevance to the upcoming Europa Jupiter System Mission (EJSM), the 105 days at Europa mission fluence energy spectra provided by JPL is used to produce the corresponding dose-depth curve in silicon behind an aluminum shield of 100 mils ( 0.7 g/sq cm). The transport suite can also accept ray-traced thickness files from a computer-aided design (CAD) package and calculate the total ionizing dose (TID) at a specific target point. In that regard, using a low-fidelity CAD model of the Galileo probe, the transport suite was verified by comparing with Monte Carlo (MC) simulations for orbits JOI--J35 of the Galileo extended mission (1996-2001). For the upcoming EJSM mission with a potential launch date of 2020, the transport suite is used to compute the traditional aluminum-silicon dose-depth calculation as a standard shield-target combination output, as well as the shielding response of high charge (Z) shields such as tantalum (Ta). Finally, a shield optimization algorithm is used to guide the instrument designer with the choice of graded-Z shield analysis.

Norman, Ryan B.↗
NASA NTRS2014

Investigation of HZETRN 2010 as a Tool for Single Event Effect Qualification of Avionics Systems

NASA's future missions are focused on deep space for human exploration that do not provide a simple emergency return to Earth. In addition, the deep space environment contains a constant background Galactic Cosmic Ray (GCR) radiation exposure, as well as periodic Solar Particle Events (SPEs) that can produce intense amounts of radiation in a short amount of time. Given these conditions, it is important that the avionics systems for deep space human missions are not susceptible to Single Event Effects (SEE) that can occur from radiation interactions with electronic components. The typical process to minimizing SEE effects is through using heritage hardware and extensive testing programs that are very costly. Previous work by Koontz, et al. [1] utilized an analysis-based method for investigating electronic component susceptibility. In their paper, FLUKA, a Monte Carlo transport code, was used to calculate SEE and single event upset (SEU) rates. This code was then validated against in-flight data. In addition, CREME-96, a deterministic code, was also compared with FLUKA and in-flight data. However, FLUKA has a long run-time (on the order of days), and CREME-96 has not been updated in several years. This paper will investigate the use of HZETRN 2010, a deterministic transport code developed at NASA Langley Research Center, as another tool that can be used to analyze SEE and SEU rates. The benefits to using HZETRN over FLUKA and CREME-96 are that it has a very fast run time (on the order of minutes) and has been shown to be of similar accuracy as other deterministic and Monte Carlo codes when considering dose [2, 3, 4]. The 2010 version of HZETRN has updated its treatment of secondary neutrons and thus has improved its accuracy over previous versions. In this paper, the Linear Energy Transfer (LET) spectra are of interest rather than the total ionizing dose. Therefore, the LET spectra output from HZETRN 2010 will be compared with the FLUKA and in-flight data to validate HZETRN 2010 as a computational tool for SEE qualification by analysis. Furthermore, extrapolation of these data to interplanetary environments at 1 AU will be investigated to determine whether HZETRN 2010 can be used successfully and confidently for deep space mission analyses.

Rojdev, Kristina↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Shields-1 Energetic Proton Dose Comparison from Solar Minimum and Active Periods

Shields-1 has been operating in polar low earth orbit since December 2018 as part of the CubeSat Launch Initiative (CSLI) Educational Launch of Nanosatellites (ELaNa)XIX Mission. Shields-1 has 8 Teledyne µdosimeters behind shielding. These shielded µdosimeters have high minimum proton energy thresholds. The Shields-1 electronics enclosure µdosimeter has a minimum proton threshold energy of 151 MeV. The annualized total ionizing dose (TID) in the electronics enclosure was 75.6 +/- 3.2 RAD from July-August 2019, which was a solar minimum period. In contrast, the annualized TID was 61.0 +/- 2.5 RAD in July 2023, a solar active month. The TID change can be attributed to both the reduction in radiation at the South Atlantic Anomaly (SAA) and the decrease in galactic cosmic radiation during increasing solar activity. The measured GCR dose over the poles was reduced during the July 2023 solar active period in comparison with the July 2019 solar minimum period, using the most sensitive µdosimeter channel for the measurement. Shields-1 has demonstrated the capability of measuring the changes in high energy protons in polar low earth orbit during changes in solar activity, which contributes to the understanding of Earth in the heliosphere.

Shields-1 Dosimetry Space Sciences↗
NASA NTRS2000

Radiation effects on DC-DC Converters

DC-DC switching converters are circuits that can be used to convert a DC voltage of one value to another by switching action. They are increasing being used in space systems. Most of the popular DC-DC switching converters utilize power MOSFETs. However power MOSFETs, when subjected to radiation, are susceptible to degradation of device characteristics or catastrophic failure. This work focuses on the effects of total ionizing dose on converter performance. Four fundamental switching converters (buck converter, buck-boost converter, cuk converter, and flyback converter) were built using Harris IRF250 power MOSFETs. These converters were designed for converting an input of 60 volts to an output of about 12 volts with a switching frequency of 100 kHz. The four converters were irradiated with a Co-60 gamma source at dose rate of 217 rad/min. The performances of the four converters were examined during the exposure to the radiation. The experimental results show that the output voltage of the converters increases as total dose increases. However, the increases of the output voltage were different for the four different converters, with the buck converter and cuk converter the highest and the flyback converter the lowest. We observed significant increases in output voltage for cuk converter at a total dose of 24 krad (si).

Zhang, Dexin↗
NASA NTRS2005

Characterization and recovery of Deep Sub Micron (DSM) technologies behavior under radiation

This paper serves a twofold purpose: characterize the behavior of a reconfigurable chip exposed to radiation; and demonstrate a method for functionality recovery due to Total Ionizing Dose (TID) effects. The experiments are performed using a PL developed reconfigurable device, a Field Programmable Transistor Array (FPTA). The paper initially describes experiments on the characterization of the NMOS transistor behavior for TID values up to 300krad. The behavior of analog and digital circuits downloaded onto the FPTA chip is also assessed for TID effects. This paper also presents a novel approach for circuit functionality recovery due to radiation effects based on Evolvable Hardware. The key idea is to reconfigure a programmable device, in-situ, to compensate, or bypass its degraded or damaged components. Experiments with total radiation dose up to 300kRad show that while the functionality of a variety of circuits, including digital gates, a rectifier and a Digital to Analog Converter implemented on a FPTA-2 chip is degraded/lost at levels before 200kRad, the correct functionality can be recovered through the proposed evolutionary approach and the chips are able to survive higher radiation, for several functions in excess of total radiation dose of 250kRad.

evolvable hardware↗
NASA NTRS1999

Proton Effects and Test Issues for Satellite Designers: Ionization Effects - Section 4

This portion of the Short Course is divided into two segments to separately address the two major proton-related effects confronting satellite designers: ionization effects and displacement damage effects. While both of these topics are deeply rooted in "traditional" descriptions of space radiation effects, there are several factors at play to cause renewed concern for satellite systems being designed today. For example, emphasis on Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) technologies in both commercial and government systems increases both Total Ionizing Dose (TID) and Single Event Effect (SEE) concerns. Scaling trends exacerbate the problems, especially with regard to SEEs where protons can dominate soft error rates and even cause destructive failure. In addition, proton-induced displacement damage at fluences encountered in natural space environments can cause degradation in modern bipolar circuitry as well as in many emerging electronic and opto-electronic technologies. A crude, but nevertheless telling, indication of the level of concern for proton effects follows from surveying the themes treated in papers presented at this conference. The table lists themes found in the IEEE Transaction on Nuclear Science (TNS) December issue from the past year and compares them with the December issue's content a decade earlier. Ten years ago there were nine papers, or about 10% of the total, dealing with the four indicated topics. At that time, single event effects from protons were the primary concern, and these were thought to be possible only when a nuclear reaction initiated energetic recoil atoms. This is shown in the table as the 'traditional" SEE subject. A decade later, submissions addressing this topic had doubled, while papers devoted to displacement damage studies had increased from one to nine! More importantly, displacement damage effects in the natural space environments have become a concern for degradation in modern devices (other than solar cells), and this was not so ten years earlier.

Marshall, Paul W.↗
DOE OSTI2026

TCAD-Machine Learning Enabled TID Compact Model Development for Commercial SiC MOSFET

We propose a TCAD (Technology Computer Aided Design)-machine learning coupled approach that combines a TCAD tool (Charon), optimization/uncertainty quantification tool (Dakota), surrogate models, and Bayesian learning capabilities. The coupling approach is used for accurate modeling and calibration of total ionizing dose (TID) induced threshold voltage (V th ) shifts in Commercial-Off-The-Shelf (COTS) semiconductor devices and to develop physics-informed TID compact models. This versatile approach is applied to model the TID effect in an exemplar COTS 3.3 kV SiC power MOSFET (Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor Field-Effect Transistor). With the Charon-Dakota coupling, we can determine key device geometry and doping values based on device physics, which are difficult to obtain or not available for COTS devices but important for TCAD simulation; additionally, we can efficiently generate thousands of simulation results in a large parameter space, which makes it possible to develop data-driven surrogate models and perform Bayesian calibration. Utilizing the full tool-coupling approach, we achieve calibrated TCAD simulation models that accurately capture the average TID-induced V th shifts behavior with total doses and V th shifts saturation at high doses as observed in experimental data. More importantly, the calibrated TCAD simulations are obtained with determined TID model parameters (e.g., hole trap density and capture cross section) values that contain well quantified uncertainties. Furthermore, we can isolate and quantify the noises that are not captured by the TCAD models but exist in the measured data due to measurements and devices variabilities. Lastly, the calibrated surrogate models are used to develop physics-informed TID compact models. The method is generalizable to other devices and/or radiation conditions with few modifications and can provide well-determined uncertainties.

COTS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Gamma Radiation Effects in Amorphous and Crystalline Polyaryletherketones

This work investigates the effect of gamma radiation on chain scission and crosslinking in polyaryletherketone (PAEK) thermoplastic filaments, namely, polyetheretherketone (PEEK) and polyetherketoneketone (PEKK) that is either semicrystalline (PEKK-c) or highly amorphous (PEKK-a). The PAEK thermoplastic filaments were exposed to total ionizing doses (TID) of gamma radiation from 1 to 8 MGy in the Gamma Irradiation Facility at Sandia National Laboratories. A combination of thermal and FT-IR spectral analysis of the irradiated specimens was used to study the chain scission and crosslinking behavior between PEEK, PEKK-c, and PEKK-a. Crystallinity decreased with increased TID and melt enthalpy decreased. Despite clear indications of changes to melt and crystallization behavior, any change to the glass-transition temperature was minor until a post-irradiation thermal annealing occurred, which caused an increase in crystallinity. Gamma radiation impacted PEKK-a more due to the lower degree of initial crystallinity, where a reduction in melt enthalpy, crystallinity, and crystallization kinetics was observed. Despite these effects, the ability to achieve a higher degree of crystallization (X c < 20%) by annealing was not affected. The results presented here provide important insight into the performance of a class of commercialized PEKK thermoplastics exposed to a harsh radiation environment.

Crystallinity↗
DOE OSTI2024

Design and assembling status of the Mu2e electromagnetic calorimeter mechanical structures

The muon-to-electron conversion (Mu2e) experiment at Fermilab will search for the Charged Lepton Flavour Violating neutrino-less coherent conversion of a muon into an electron in the field of an aluminum nucleus. The observation of this process would be the unambiguous evidence of physics beyond the Standard Model. The detector has been designed as a state-of-the-art crystal calorimeter and employs 1348 pure Cesium Iodide (CsI) crystals readout by UV-extended silicon photosensors and fast front-end and digitization electronics. A design consisting of two identical annular matrices (named disks ) positioned at the relative distance of 70 cm, downstream the aluminum target along the muon beamline, satisfies the Mu2e physics requirements. The hostile Mu2e operational conditions, in terms of radiation levels (total ionizing dose of 12 krad and a neutron fluence of 5 10^{10} n/cm2 @ 1 MeVeq (Si)/y), magnetic field intensity (1 T) and vacuum level (10−4 Torr) have posed tight constraints on the design of the detector mechanical structures and materials choice. The support structure of the two 674 crystal matrices employs two aluminum hollow rings and parts made of open- cell vacuum-compatible carbon fiber. The photosensors and service front-end electronics for each crystal are assembled in a unique mechanical unit inserted in a machined copper holder. The 674 units are supported by a machined plate made of vacuum-compatible plastic material. The plate also integrates the cooling system made of a network of copper lines flowing a low temperature radiation-hard fluid and placed in thermal con- tact with the copper holders. The data acquisition electronics is hosted in aluminum custom crates positioned on the external lateral surface of the two disks. The crates also integrate the electronics cooling system. In this poster we will review the constraints on the calorimeter mechanical structures, the technological choices, and the status of assembling at Fermilab.

Pasciuto, D.↗
DOE OSTI2025

Van de Graaff Irradiation Studies of Oxygen Sensor and Hydrated Zirconia Sorbent

Commercial-scale production of Mo-99 demands a facility-wide assessment of radiation-induced degradation across process equipment, instrumentation, and purification media. Key factors— total ionizing dose, dose rate, radiolysis-driven chemistry, thermal loads, activation, and any neutron-related effects—should inform material selection, shielding, and component layout. Purification materials (sorbents, resins, filters, seals, housing) require particular attention to ensure that irradiation does not alter selectivity or capacity, generate fines, or introduce leachables that could compromise Mo-99 purity or downstream Tc-99m generator performance. Dose mapping, accelerated irradiation testing, and studies of extractables/leachables together provide the basis for setting maintenance, calibration, and replacement intervals and for qualifying materials that retain mechanical integrity, chemical compatibility, and radiopurity over their service life.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗