Design and qualification of a MGy tolerant front - end chip in 65 nm CMOS for the read - out of remotely operated sensors and actuators during maintenance in ITER

This paper describes the radiation qualification procedure for a 1 MGy-tolerant Application Specific Integrated circuit ( ASIC) developed in 65 nm CMOS technology. The chip is intended for the read-out of electrical signals of sensors and actuators during maintenance in ITER. First the general working principle of the ASIC is shown. The developed IC allows to read-out, condition and digitize multiple low bandwidth (<10 kHz) sensors. In addition the IC is able to multiplex the digitized sensor signals. To comply with ITER-relevant constraints an adapted radiation qualification procedure has been proposed. The radiation-qualification procedure describes the test criteria and test conditions of the developed ASICs, which are also compared with COTS alternatives, to meet the stringent qualification procedures for electronics exposed to radiation in ITER.status: publishe

Qualification method for a 1MGy-tolerant front-end chip designed in 65nm CMOS for the read-out of remotely operated sensors and actuators during maintenance in ITER

This paper describes the radiation qualification procedure for a 1 MGy-tolerant Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) developed in 65 nm CMOS technology. The chip is intended for the read-out of electrical signals of sensors and actuators during maintenance in ITER. First the general working principle of the ASIC is shown. The developed IC allows to read-out, condition and digitize multiple low bandwidth (<10 kHz) sensors. In addition the IC is able to multiplex the digitized sensor signals. To comply with ITER-relevant constraints an adapted radiation qualification procedure has been proposed. The radiation-qualification procedure describes the test criteria and test conditions of the developed ASICs, which are also compared with COTS alternatives, to meet the stringent qualification procedures for electronics exposed to radiation in ITER.publisher: Elsevier articletitle: Qualification method for a 1MGy-tolerant front-end chip designed in 65nm CMOS for the read-out of remotely operated sensors and actuators during maintenance in ITER journaltitle: Fusion Engineering and Design articlelink: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.fusengdes.2015.02.064 content_type: article copyright: Copyright © 2015 Published by Elsevier B.V.status: publishe

A MGy, Low-Offset Programmable Instrumentation Amplifier IC for Nuclear Applications

This paper shows a customized MGy radiation tolerant instrumentation amplifier. The 65 nm CMOS-based ASIC amplifier has an offset smaller than 1 µV and a noise level below 50 nV/√Hz from DC. It consumes less than 5 mW and has a common-mode-rejection-ratio larger the 100 dB. In addition, it allows a programmable gain setting from 8,16,32,64,128 to 256. The performance of this instrumentation amplifier was monitored during an on-line radiation experiment up to a total ionizing dose larger than 1 MGy, enabling the read-out of the most common nuclear temperature and position sensors.status: publishe

A 1 MGy TID Radiation-Tolerant 56 µW CMOS Temperature Sensor with ±1.7°C Accuracy

The total-ionizing-dose (TID) radiation tolerance of CMOS temperature sensors is generally limited by the radiation-introduced leakage current in diodes. A dynamic base leakage compensation technique is employed to improve the radiation hardness of the CMOS temperature sensor. The fabricated temperature sensor achieves an accuracy of ±1.7°C from -40°C to 125°C, while the power and area consumption are only 56 μW and 0.07 mm2, respectively. The temperature sensor is assessed with a gamma irradiation experiment with a dose rate of 1 kGy/h, and radiation induced temperature readout drifts are smaller than 0.2% after 1 MGy.status: publishe

MGy Radiation Assessment of a Space-Graded Amplifier and ADC

This paper shows a high total dose radiation assessment on a set of space qualified components. Two space graded COTS (Commercial off-the-shelf) components were selected and monitored under 60Co gamma radiation, namely an instrumentation amplifier and a 14 bit analogue-to-digital-converter (ADC). The specifications of these COTS components were monitored on-line with a customized test bed, up-to a total ionizing dose larger than 1 MGy and are presented in this paper.status: publishe