Application of simple hardening techniques in system design and verification of survival by EMP and γ tests

Abstract

The design and test verification of this system intended for use on the ground have demonstrated the success of the often quoted EMP and γ hardening techniques such as radio frequency shielded enclosures, single point grounding, shielded cables, surge arrestors, series resistance limiting, and circumvention. All of these simple techniques were applied in the design of the system described in this paper. This paper discusses in some detail the design and the problems associated with four of these techniques, namely series resistance limiting, circumvention, surge arrestors, and hard memory. The system survived exposure to EMP fields of 53 kV/m and dose rates of ≈ 1010 rads(Si)/s. These results also showed that the failure dose rate for a memory subsystem will be less than the dose rate for the discrete devices if the design does not take circuit interactions with the memory devices into account. Test data predicts that the memory failure level of midrange 1010 to 1011 rads(Si)/s can be achieved with careful circuit design.