Supplement: Aerospace, Military and Defence
for companies, governments and academies looking to launch payloads. If all goes well, it is expected that additional spaceports will open, providing more opportunities for launch providers and payload owners.
Space tourism is predicted to grow significantly in the future. However, as it currently stands, the prices are still high. Much like how commercial air travel was initially limited to the wealthy, commercial
space travel will be the same – until continued success and increased frequency drives prices down over the next 10 to 15 years. When the flights are more than just launch and return, and similar to the planned flight around the Moon by Japanese billionaire, Yusaku Maeza, along with eight others, it is expected that there will be greater demand.
Software and hardware – managing complexity
Just as NASA needed to manage hardware and software performance for the Apollo mission, today’s new space projects have even more complexity to manage. The increased complexity of systems (hardware and software) requires the application of systems engineering to develop requirements, identify risk and define mitigations and create verification plans to ensure system performance. An increasing amount of software means it needs the same attention in testing as hardware.
Space technology in the future The progress of space technology since the historic Apollo landing has been remarkable. The coming years should be significant for
space, both commercially and for countries as costs drop and technical knowledge expands. The impact of space programmes may not just be in space. Successful programmes, such as the Indian Moon landing, will attract more talent to study STEM, and develop solutions not just for use in space, but also to address earth bound problems. The ability to observe Earth from space will provide more opportunities to monitor and improve the environment. Improved communications will provide opportunities for education, work and healthcare to improve the quality of life.
https://www.ieee.org/
GaN technology from EPC Space exhibits extreme robustness for space missions
By Max Zafrani, EPC Space S
pace exploration has always demanded cutting-edge technology, reliability, and resilience. The latest breakthrough in power
electronics, gallium nitride (GaN) technology, has emerged as a game- changer for space-based systems offering, in our opinion, superior radiation tolerance and unmatched electrical performance compared to traditional silicon MOSFETs. In this article, we delve into the reasons why GaN power devices are the ultimate choice for power conversion applications in space and how their resistance to radiation makes them an extremely robust solution for space missions.
GaN’s resilience to radiation Space is a harsh environment in which semiconductors can experience various
www.cieonline.co.uk.
Figure 1: Cross section of a typical enhancement mode GaN (eGaN®) device
forms of radiation, including gamma radiation, neutron radiation, and heavy ion bombardment. GaN devices have showcased exceptional radiation tolerance, setting them apart from the silicon
MOSFETs traditionally used.
An energetic particle can cause damage to a semiconductor in three primary ways; it can cause traps in non-conducting layers, it can cause physical damage to the crystal
– also called displacement damage, or it can generate a cloud of electron-hole pairs that will cause the device to momentarily conduct, and possibly burn out in the
continues on page 26 Components in Electronics October 2023 25
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