Testing the Space Environment on Electronic Components

Space… the final frontier

While our core expertise lies in delivering top-notch IoT solutions, our intrepid Technical Director, Jonathan Riley, recently embarked on a project of a different nature, that took him towards ‘space, the final frontier…’.

And whilst Jonathan wasn’t exactly exploring ‘strange new worlds’ he did boldly venture across the pond to Brookhaven National Laboratory (situated on Long Island, 60 miles east of New York) and into the fascinating world of space environment simulation.

The project's purpose was to simulate the effects of the space environment on electronic components

The mission…

The purpose of the project was to simulate the effects of the space environment on electronic components. The Sun, along with other stars, emits light and particles known as the ‘solar wind’, and it is these particles that can potentially damage electronic devices when used in space.

Launching a satellite into space requires a huge financial investment, making it essential to test the durability of each electronic component and ensure it will function for the duration of the satellite’s use.

As an expert in space radiation and next generation high speed satellites, having completed the radiation, analysis and testing for other space projects (including for Tier 1 organisations), Jonathan was perfectly placed to embark this exciting project.

Testing the Space Environment on Electronic Components

The synchrotron (a high-energy particle accelerator) at Brookhaven National Laboratory was used to test the space environment on electronic components. The synchrotron mimics the conditions in space by bombarding the components with gold ions to see how they will react to the ions present in the space environment.

The aim was to find out what damage or other effects single high energy particles can cause. Because this is all about each individual ion hitting a device, we refer to this as ‘Single Event Effects’ or SEE for short. As the particles come to a halt in a component, they will release their energy in various ways, such as gamma radiation, displacement of atoms in the target material and the creating of many electron-hole pairs. A range of energies was used to determine whether a component was likely to be destroyed by the ions present in space.

If the device is not destroyed, the collected data can be used to predict the rates at which these particles will hit and what effect that has on the system availability and the cumulative effects on the lifespan of the component in a real-world (or rather real-space) application.

Exploring New Frontiers

Stepping beyond our usual IoT domain, this project has given us the opportunity to get involved in a field that holds significant implications for the future of space exploration and technology and show off our versatility and technical skills.

And whilst we have no plans to change our focus of providing IoT solutions, it has been interesting to boldly explore more about space, the final frontier.