Electrical and electronic systems can be disturbed by radiation-induced
effects. In some cases, radiation-induced effects are of a low probability and
can be ignored; however, radiation effects must be considered when designing
systems that have a high mean time to failure requirement, an impact on
protection, and/or higher exposure to radiation. High-energy physics power
systems suffer from a combination of these effects: a high mean time to failure
is required, failure can impact on protection, and the proximity of systems to
accelerators increases the likelihood of radiation-induced events. This paper
presents the principal radiation-induced effects, and radiation environments
typical to high-energy physics. It outlines a procedure for designing and
validating radiation-tolerant systems using commercial off-the-shelf
components. The paper ends with a worked example of radiation-tolerant power
converter controls that are being developed for the Large Hadron Collider and
High Luminosity-Large Hadron Collider at CERN.Comment: 19 pages, contribution to the 2014 CAS - CERN Accelerator School:
Power Converters, Baden, Switzerland, 7-14 May 201