Key Takeaways

• Researchers at Carnegie Mellon have developed compact radiation-hardened chips that outperform traditional designs in space.
• The new chips use innovative configurations to reduce area, enhance performance, and lower manufacturing costs, crucial for space applications.
• A system-on-chip prototype is planned for testing on a cubesat mission in 2026, in collaboration with Sandia National Labs.

Innovative Radiation-Hardened Chips for Space Applications

Space presents numerous challenges for technology, particularly due to extreme conditions such as radiation from solar flares and cosmic rays. These factors pose significant risks to the integrity of computer chips, especially in their data storage elements like flip-flops (FF). Carnegie Mellon University’s research team has made significant strides in addressing these issues by developing compact radiation-hardened chips that maintain or exceed the radiation tolerance of conventional designs.

The team’s paper, titled “A Soft Error Tolerant Flip Flop for eFPGA Configuration Hardening in 22nm FinFET Process,” received the Best Paper Award at the Design, Automation and Test in Europe (DATE) Conference in Lyon, France. This collaborative effort with Sandia National Labs aims to enhance microelectronics for critical applications in space and aerospace.

Ken Mai, a principal systems scientist at Carnegie Mellon and co-author of the paper, noted that reducing the physical space occupied by FFs translates to a smaller overall chip area. This optimization results in decreased manufacturing costs, improved performance, and better energy efficiency—factors that are essential in the demanding environment of space.

The innovative design developed by the researchers minimizes the area required for FFs without compromising their radiation tolerance. Traditional designs often rely on triple modular redundancy, employing three identical FF circuits to ensure error-free operation, which increases the area and complexity of the chips. The new design cleverly reuses components within a single basic FF to achieve similar levels of resilience to radiation while significantly reducing the physical footprint.

Although the foundational components utilized in these chips are not unique to Carnegie Mellon, the innovative arrangement and configuration are original to their research, setting it apart from existing models in the field.

Looking ahead, the team is actively designing full system-on-a-chip prototypes and plans to test these advancements on a cubesat scheduled for launch in 2026. This project promises to pave the way for deploying more efficient and durable technology in space exploration, further enhancing the capabilities of future missions.

The work done by Carnegie Mellon researchers represents a major step forward in improving the reliability and efficiency of electronics used in the harsh conditions of space, potentially leading to significant advancements in aerospace technology.

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