From COTS to space grade electronics-improving reliability for Harsh environments

After a brief overview of the aerospace radiation environment and how chronic accumulated radiation exposure (total ionizing dose and neutron/proton dose) and single-event effects (SEEs) plague electronics, we will consider the unintentional improvements in radiation hardness that have evolved as a natural consequence of technology scaling. This "natural" hardening is one of the reasons for the growing use of consumer-off-the-shelf (COTS) parts in aerospace systems that once used exclusively military and space-grade hardware. We then focus on the various screening, lot-control, and custom packaging methods used by manufacturers to offer higher reliability over extended temperature ranges for components used in intermediate aerospace applications. Finally we conclude with an overview of the process technology, design, and architectural approaches to mitigate radiation effects in commercial rad-hard electronics that are qualified for use in mission-critical aerospace applications.