Authors:

Luke Fortner

Date Created:

Not specified

Course Title:

Professor:

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About Paper:

The nanosatellite, a class of satellites that weighs under 10kg, has experienced a large increase in demand over the past decade. Historically constructed with expensive ceramic packaging, a need for lower weight and cost has led to the elevated use of a commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) alternative, plastic encapsulated microelectronics (PEMs). Unfortunately, these components are not manufactured to withstand the harsh environment of space, as extremely high temperature (T) cycling and radiation exposure causes degradation of PEM packaging. In this study, the epoxy mold compound (EMC), a typical material used in PEMs, is treated as a dielectric in order to characterize this degradation. The SPENVIS software and the AP-8 radiation belt model were used initially to obtain an accurate representation of the low Earth environment. These parameters were then applied as the EMC was subject to T cycling and proton bombardment for varying time intervals. Analysis between control and irradiated results will allow us to determine the degradation of the EMC. These results will be implemented in radiation-hardening software tools to further the design and qualification of PEMS for space and military applications.

Source:

Purdue University / 2023

Topics:

No topics listed

Co-authors:

Luke Fortner