Teledyne e2v continues to tackle the most challenging application scenarios with mixed-signal technology that delivers extreme reliability. The company’s EV12AQ600 has just been certified as the industry’s first 4-channel analog-to-digital converter (ADC) qualified for space deployment.
After thorough testing, the EV12AQ600 has proven that it can withstand a total ionizing dose (TID) of 150kRad. These results from TID and SEE demonstrate that this device is well suited for long-lifetime missions or space applications such as GEO satellites. In addition, ADCs pass rigorous multi-axial mechanical shock and vibration testing, plus Electrostatic Discharge (ESD), extreme temperature and thermal cycling test procedures. Having successfully passed all of the above tests, it now meets NASA and ESA requirements to the stringent MIL-PRF-38535 (QML-Y) and ESCC 9000 standards.
Teledyne2v’s EV12AQ600 series of devices are already used in many mission-critical military and avionics applications, and space certification will open up new opportunities for its applications. This 12-bit ADC supports a 1.6GSps data sampling rate on each channel, or a single channel 6.4GSps data sampling rate with a crosspoint switch. Detailed studies have shown that when placed in a space environment, they do not exhibit the poor interface stability seen on devices from other ADC manufacturers. So customers can have confidence in their long-term operation once they are deployed in space.
In addition to the leading performance and robust stability achieved by the EV12AQ600, this ADC has certain other attributes that will benefit space applications. Since the crosspoint switch is located after the input, the device is more versatile than other solutions. Once the ADC’s hardware is in orbit, it can be easily reconfigured remotely. The number of channels, bit rate and dynamic range can all be changed through the included FPGA to meet new functional requirements. This inherent flexibility also facilitates redesign, enabling engineers to follow a platform-based strategy in which the original system can then be adapted to suit different application standards. As a result, development time can be greatly accelerated and fewer engineering resources are required. A comprehensive collection of FPGA libraries is available to further assist project development efforts to leverage Teledyne e2v capabilities in the Xilinx ecosystem (XQRKU060) for space applications.
“With the EV12AQ600 device suitable for space applications, we are able to provide our customers with high-performance data converter solutions that can be integrated directly into their systems,” explains Nicolas Chantier, Marketing Director at Teledyne e2v. “This means they can benefit from the flight-proven TRL9 technology without any further qualification work. Also, due to the existing inventory, the lead times for these ADCs are much shorter than competing solutions currently on the market. Therefore , customers can get samples more directly,” he added.
