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A scientific study of the problems of digital engineering for space flight systems,
with a view to their practical solution.

1998 Military and Aerospace Applications of

Programmable Devices and Technologies Conference

(MAPLD Conference)

C3: P.J. McNulty¹, L.Z. Scheick¹, and D.R. Roth^2
1Dept. of Physics and Astronomy, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634-1911
²Applied Physics Laboratory, Johns Hopkins University, Laurel, MD, 20723-6099

"Monitoring the Natural Radiation Environments in Space Using UVPROM Technology"

C3_McNulty.pdf

C3_McNulty.doc

Two methods are described for measuring ionizing radiation on spacecraft. The first method measures the charge remaining on the floating gates of an array of FAMOS transistors in a UVPROM by reading the device while varying the programming voltage. This method is suitable for measuring the average absorbed dose on MOS devices flown on satellites. Reading the detector leaves the data and the detector intact and capable of continued measurements of the accumulated dose. Results from an experiment using this technique aboard the MPTB satellite are discussed. The second method uses UV radiation and is capable of measuring the absorbed dose on each of the 64K memory elements. The data generated by this procedure should be suitable to benchmark models that predict the distribution of absorbed dose across the die. Such models facilitate the prediction of the onset of the first-bit failure. First-bit failure is, in most cases, the catastrophic impact of total dose exposure on MOS devices.

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