Renesas Electronics launched a radiation-hardened 16-channel current driver with integrated 4-bit decoder, for reducing the size, weight, and power (SWaP) of satellite command and telemetry systems. The ISL72814SEH integrates the decoder, input level shifter, and 16 current driver arrays in a single monolithic IC. Able to cut the solution footprint by 50 percent, multiple ISL72814SEH current drivers are able to send 28V/500mA pulses for 750ms to the more than 1,500 RF switches in a communication satellite’s payload, routing RF signals to the designated internet radio stations and television channels.

The device also sends 12V-30V with 50mA-600mA latching pulses to control the relays and solenoids that turn on/off the propulsion system thrusters, change orbital altitude, and turn on the motor to tilt the solar panels. Its integrated level shifter removes several peripheral components, and its internal clamp diodes eliminate the need for additional protection circuitry when driving inductive loads.

The ISL72814SEH uses a silicon-on-insulator process to provide single-event effects (SEE) robustness in heavy ion environments, and the driver’s integrated decoder interfaces directly to the general purpose I/Os of FPGAs and microprocessors in the satellite’s flight computer, dramatically reducing pin count compared to 1-input to 1-output driver arrays. Each of the ISL72814SEH’s 16-channels of common-collector open-emitter PNP driver outputs can generate pulses of up to 42V and 700mA.

The device is wafer acceptance tested to 100krad(Si) over high dose rate (HDR), and 75krad(Si) over low dose rate (LDR) total dose testing. Characterization testing is completed with no single event latch-up (SEL), single event burnout (SEB), and single event transients (SETs) at a linear energy transfer (LET) of up to 86MeV*cm2/mg.

The ISL72814SEH radiation-hardened 16-channel current driver is available now in a 28-lead ceramic flatpack package. An evaluation board is available to evaluate device features and performance.

Learn more at www.renesas.com/products/ISL72814SEH.