Teledyne e2v’s Radiation Tolerant Quad ARM® Cortex®-A72 Space Processor Successfully Passes 100krad TID Testing

GRENOBLE, FRANCE – Media OutReach – 16 November 2020 – Teledyne
e2v has announced that its popular LS1046-Space processor has now passed
stringent total ionizing dose (TID) radiation tests, achieving 100krad
resilience. This multi-core device, which features four
64-bit Arm® Cortex®-A72 processing cores, was able to operate as normal
after the TID tests had been undertaken. These
results complement those previously obtained in terms of single event latch-up
(SEL) and single event upset (SEU) when exposed to heavy-ions up to more than
60MeV.cm²/mg.

Running at operating frequencies
of up to 1.8GHz, Teledyne e2v LS1046-Space is based on
NXP processor technology. It has a built-in 64-bit DDR4 SDRAM memory controller with 8-bit error corrected
code (ECC), plus a 2MByte L2 cache shared
across its cores. L1 and L2 caches are both ECC-protected, so as
to offer a high degree of immunity to data corruption. This high-reliability
processor is supplied in a 780-ball BGA package and comes with a wide range of
interfaces embedded – including 10Gbit Ethernet,
PCI-Express (PCIe) 3.0, SPI, I²C, multiple UARTs, etc.
Conforming with NASA Level 1
requirements, and typically integrated into space-oriented single board computers
(SBCs), it is commonly used in satellite-based imaging related tasks, such as
processing/conditioning and image data compression, as well ultra-low latency
communications and on-board decision making (leveraging AI algorithms).

Thanks to the new test results
obtained, customers will now have the information
needed to know how the processing cores incorporated into LS1046-Space device
will behave within challenging space settings. Engineers will be able to make
better-informed choices about device selection by referring to the detailed test
data now available. The TID figures will give them strong assurances about the longevity
of these units when deployed into space, while the SEL/SEU heavy
ions results provide elevated confidence in ongoing functional integrity.

“As a company, we have been involved in space projects for over
three decades, working with the leading agencies and commercial entities in
this sector. Our customers are fully aware of the reputation our processor ICs
have gained, as well as the performance and extreme reliability benefits that can
be brought to their hardware implementations through using them,” states Thomas
GUILLEMAIN, Marketing & Business Development Manager at Teledyne e2v.
“These latest radiation results give a strong validation of the value that our radiation-tolerant,
compute-intensive processors offer to space applications, with unquestionable reassurance
that they can survive in the most extreme operating conditions.”

“We
have set out a well-defined road map to follow on from this, with full
characterization of the accompanying peripheral interfaces by early 2021, then
comprehensive single event functional interrupt mitigation testing by the
middle of that year,” he concludes.

About Teledyne e2v

Teledyne e2v offers high-performance, ultra-reliable semiconductor
solutions addressing critical functions across the entire signal chain –
covering data converters, interface ICs, microprocessors, analog switches,
voltage references, digitizers, logic, memory and RF devices. Serving the
avionics, industrial, medical, military, scientific and space sectors, the
company is recognized as a world leader in the re-engineering and up-screening
commercial technologies to deal with the most demanding of application
scenarios.

Many of Teledyne e2v’s products are developed through strategic
partnerships with leading semiconductor vendors – such as NXP, Everspin and
Micron. By working closely with its global client base, the company is able to
provide an expansive array of innovative solutions. These span all the way from
standard and semi-custom through to fully customized options.

For more information visit: https://www.teledyne-e2v.com