Abstract
Abstract. The results of two radiation test campaigns on a low-cost commercial off-the-shelf magnetometer are presented. The test setup and the total ionization dose (TID) levels studied were designed to meet the requirements of a mission to land on Europa. Based on the Europa Lander Science Definition Team report, instruments inside an aluminum vault at the surface of Europa would need to withstand TID of up to 300 krad(SI). In order to evaluate the performance of the PNI RM3100 magnetometer, nine separate sensors were irradiated at two different facilities during two separate campaigns and under different configurations, including passive and active tests. Of the nine sensors, seven survived the TID of 300 krad(SI) while the other two sensors started presenting failures after reaching 150 krad(SI). Post-irradiation tests showed that eight of the nine sensors continued to work without appreciable degradation after stopping exposure, while one sensor stopped working altogether.
Highlights
When designing electronics, one of the aspects to take into account is the susceptibility of semiconductors to radiation effects
We focus on the total ionization dose (TID) effects on a commercial off-the-shelf magnetometer that makes use of a measurement principle known as magneto-induction
Netzer et al (2014) evaluated a series of components suitable for the development of CubeSat missions, including an MSP430 microcontroller, the BeagleBone Black computer development platform, and a series of junction field effect transistor (JFET) and complementary metal–oxide– semiconductor (CMOS) operational amplifiers under conditions similar to those encountered by missions in LEO at inclinations between 45 and 90◦ and with 100 mm of aluminum shielding
Summary
One of the aspects to take into account is the susceptibility of semiconductors to radiation effects. While this is a minor concern for everyday consumer electronics, it becomes an important aspect in the design of instrumentation for space applications. There are different ways in which radiation can affect electronics, and there are different ways to quantify these effects
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