Configurable Radiation Hardened High Speed Isolated Interface ASIC, Phase I

NVE Corporation will design and build an innovative, low cost, flexible, configurable, radiation hardened, galvanically isolated, interface ASIC chip set that will reduce power consumption, enable high efficiency power conversion management, highly integrate existing discrete solutions, enable precision isolated data conversion and communication, save weight and footprint and be more immune to radiation than the existing optocoupler technology solution. The proposed chip set configurations will interface with many communication protocols and data signaling applications. This flexible configuration enables variant uses of the silicon, increases circuit and application flexibility, allows protected, isolated interfaces between systems, and increases overall system speed and reliability while reducing complexity. A key challenge is to successfully integrate NVE's commercialized Giant Magneto-Resistive (GMR) based post processing IsoLoop^REG technology with radiation hardened or radiation tolerant under-layer circuits. NVE has shipped millions CMOS-based commercial units using this concept. GMR material, configured into magnetically sensitive resistors, is inherently radiation hard. Customers have tested the basic sense element to a dose rate of 1.1E+12 rads(Si)/sec. without failure. NASA Goddard (Robert Reed) tested commercial IsoLoop products to a fluence of 1x107 ions/cm2.and observed no upsets. James Lyke of AFRL/VSEE will advise and assist NVE on the program.

Potential NASA Commercial Applications: There are several other applications that could be explored. The first ones are commercial applications where radiation is an issue. One potential peripheral market is the medical instrumentation area, where radiation is used for sterilization of devices. Standard devices cannot be cleaned with this technique as the electronics will shift to the point of not operating. The second one is within the containment of nuclear power plants. NVE sensors have recently been employed within containment to perform eddy current-based scans of the heads. Existing circuit isolation is opto-isolators which is slow and prone to occasional error. The last market area that will be examined is the high temperature market (200 deg C+). This market is small but required in oil exploration.

This is a mature technology (TRL 7+) — the realistic path in is usually NASA's Technology Transfer Program: licensing an existing NASA patent, or a Space Act Agreement to use NASA facilities/expertise directly. NASA also runs a startup licensing program with no upfront fee for companies formed to commercialize a specific NASA technology.

None of these are guaranteed paths for this specific project — TechPort itself doesn't have an "apply" button. Reaching out to the contact(s) above with a specific question is usually the fastest way to find out what's actually open.