| When electronic devices are used in space and military systems, they may be exposed to various types of radiation, including photons, electrons, protons, neutrons, and heavy ions. The effects of radiation on the semiconductor devices within the systems range from gradual degradation to catastrophic failure. In order to design and produce reliable systems for space or military applications, it is necessary to understand the device-level effects of radiation and develop appropriate strategies for reducing system susceptibility.; This research focuses on understanding radiation effects in power converters for space and military applications. We show that power converters are very sensitive to radiation (total-dose, single event effects and displacement damage) and that their radiation response is dependent on input bias conditions and load conditions. We compared the radiation hardness of various power converter topologies using experiments and simulations. Evaluation of these designs under different modes of operation is demonstrated to be critical for determining radiation hardness. We emphasize the correlation between radiation effects and the role of the dynamic response of these topologies. For instance, total dose exposure has been found to degrade loop gain and affect regulation in some converters. We propose several radiation-hardening solutions to improve the radiation response of these designs. For instance, we demonstrate the design of a digitally controlled boost converter suitable for space applications based on an SRAM FPGA. A design hardening solution has been developed and successfully applied through VHDL simulations and experiments to assure the continuous operation of the converter in the presence of SEES (more precisely SEFIs). This research led to the design of a digitally controlled radiation hardened integrated switching buck converter. The proposed design is suitable for micro-satellite applications and is based on a high-voltage/CMOS process. This design is the first radiation-hardened DC/DC power converter in this power range that integrates the switch, controller, and rectifier. The design has been fabricated, simulated and tested. |
