Use Microchip's COTS Device-Based Radiation-Resistant Solutions to Reduce Time-to-Market and Cost-Reducing NewSpace Products

The ATmegaS64M1 microcontrollers enable customers to develop with commercial devices and then migrate to pin-compatible, radiation-tolerant devices.

Developing radiation-tolerant systems for space applications requires not only long lead times but also very high costs because the system must be extremely reliable for long years in harsh environments. Today, NewSpace and other important aerospace applications require accelerated development and lower costs. To meet these needs, Microchip Technology Inc. has introduced a new microcontroller (MCU) that combines unique radiation resistance with the low cost development features of existing commercial (COTS) devices.

The ATmegaS64M1, Microchip's second megaAVR® 8-bit MCU, uses a development methodology called COTS Radiation Harness. This approach leverages a proven automotive grade device, the ATmega64M1, to develop pin-compatible versions of the corresponding high-reliability plastic and space-grade ceramic packages. These devices are designed to meet radiation resistance requirements and have the following targeted properties:

Fully tolerant of single-particle event blocking (SEL) up to 62 MeV.cm² / mg

Secure Storage Integrity Without Single Event Event Capability (SEFI)

The cumulative total ionization dose (TID) is between 20 and 50 Krad (Si)

All feature modules feature single event event reversal (SEU)

The new device joins the ATmegaS128, a radiation-tolerant MCU that has been designed for several critical space missions, including Mars exploration and hundreds of LEO satellite constellations.

ATmega64M1 COTS devices along with their complete development toolchain, including development kits and code configurators, can be used to begin hardware, firmware and software development. When the final system is ready for prototype production or mass production, the COTS device can be replaced with a pin-compatible, radiation-tolerant 32-lead ceramic package (QFP32) device with the same features as the original device. This greatly reduces the cost, but also shortens the development time and reduces the risk.

Patrick Sauvage, Director, Microchip Aerospace, said: "Our COTS radiation-resistant approach gives us the most compelling space-grade device for enhanced aerospace screening of enhanced devices. Also, the development of COTS devices And then replace it with a pin-compatible, full-featured, high-reliability plastic or ceramic package that reduces development time and costs and risks for our customers. "

The ATmegaS64M1 meets the high operating temperature range of -55 ° C to + 125 ° C. It is the first COTS radiation-hardened MCU that combines a controller area network (CAN) bus, digital-to-analog converter (DAC) and motor control. These features make it ideally suited for use in subsystems of satellite, constellation, launcher or key avionics applications such as remote terminal controllers and data processing functions.

Development support

To simplify the design flow and reduce time-to-market, Microchip provided the ATK6641 with a complete STK 600 development board that helps designers quickly get started developing code with advanced capabilities for prototyping and testing new designs. The device is powered by the Atmel Studio Integrated Development Environment (IDE) for development, debugging and software libraries.

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 Author：Brittany Antonia （The author of article owns the copyright.）