BAE Systems has received $16 million in Defense Production Act Title III funding via the Department of War’s Warfighting Investments, Resourcing, and Execution directorate to demonstrate and qualify its radiation-hardened 45 nanometer (nm) RH45 technology.
The Advanced RH45 ASIC Storefront provides a custom development solution for natural and strategic radiation environments. The radiation-hardened 45nm electronic chip is intended for satellites and rovers operating in space.
For more than a decade, RH45 technology has allowed space customers to develop solutions using a library of capabilities and application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) design and manufacturing methods. Manufacturing is now on GlobalFoundries’ 45nm silicon-on-insulator (SOI) technology at its facility in Malta, New York. The contract reestablishes the RH45 ASIC Storefront and supports the domestic supply chain for radiation-hardened microelectronics.
The RH45 ASIC Storefront is a radiation-hardened platform offering qualified building blocks compatible with industry-standard design tools. Customers can develop their own integrated circuit designs based on commercial 45nm technology. The building blocks provide functions needed for space operations. RH45 chips are designed to operate in the space environment with improved power and performance compared to prior generations of transistor electronics. They are used by military, civil, and commercial customers for planetary exploration, communications, national security, surveillance, and weather operations, as well as strategic radiation-hardened missions for defense applications.
Joe Dziezynski, Space Systems product line director at BAE Systems, said: “Design flexibility is important when it comes to supporting space missions. Our RH45 ASIC library is a unique and trusted capability that allows our customers to target specific functions while meeting radiation-hardened requirements. These integrated circuits are the heart of computers whose advanced processing powering cannot fail when carrying out critical objectives in the challenging space environment.”
Ezra Hall, senior director of Aerospace and Defense Business Line at GlobalFoundries, said: “This investment builds upon our longstanding partnership with BAE Systems, a valued customer of our differentiated SOI technology. It reaffirms our commitment to providing continuity of supply for critical defense applications and to supporting BAE Systems with secure, U.S.-manufactured semiconductor solutions. Together, we are accelerating the development of next-generation technologies that meet the highest standards of performance, reliability, and security – including in challenging space environments for critical space missions.”
RH45 technology is being integrated into single-board computers (SBCs) that will be available to space agencies and spacecraft manufacturers, including BAE Systems’ Endura SBC. Endura will provide processor cores, hardware accelerated input/output, and security features aimed at improvements in size, speed, and power efficiency. BAE Systems develops and produces space electronics ranging from standard components and SBCs to complete system payloads.
Work on the RH45 ASIC is performed by BAE Systems’ Space Systems group in Manassas, Virginia. This facility is a U.S. Department of War Category 1A Microelectronics Trusted Source covering design, aggregation, broker, packaging and assembly, and test services.
