Q. Could you brief us on the kind of technologies that Infineon works with to create these HiRel products?
For the silicon microwave transistors, we have different kinds of bipolar technologies. For RadHard PowerMOS transistors, we use a derivate from the Infineon unique technology called CoolMOS, which is also widely used in power supplies.
Q. Could you throw light on Standard PowerMOS versus Radiation Hard PowerMOS for space?
All electronic devices that are sent to space have to be radiation hardened. Power MOS are very sensitive for radiation effects and the breakdown of such components is very severe and can cause the failure of a complete space mission. Therefore, the main focus on radiation hardness is for such components. Two effects have to be considered – Total Ionisation Dose (TID) and SEE (Single event effects by heavy ions). To cope with the space requirements, Infineon developed our own 250V Radiation hard PowerMOS technology, which is worldwide benchmark for its TID and SEE hardness in combination with best in class electrical parameters.
Q. Apart from TID & SEE, are there any other extreme conditions that HiRel components undergo in space?
Most extreme conditions that the components may see during the lift off and transport in space to the final destination are extreme temperatures and vibrations.
Q. Talking about your RadHard PowerMOS, why do you claim that by incorporating this Infineon devices can beat all other devices existing in the market?
Infineon Radiation hard powerMOS offers the best in class Radiation hardness and electrical parameters such as a low Rds (on) and a low Qg, which helps the customer to make a very efficient design. Secondly, for space components very short lead-time is an important factor. We are talking here about 12 weeks for Engineering devices and 18 weeks for Flight devices. Last but not least I want to mention the Export regulations. As Infineon is a European country, Infineon devices do not have such export regulation which makes life much more easier for the manufacturer to buy Infineon components. You might ask now why I do not talk about high quality at this point. It is easy because the quality has to be there in any case and if we at Infineon would not be sure about our quality we would not supply components to the space market!
Q. What are the requirements and needs of the space industry today?
The major requirement is to get the components from a reliable supplier with the expected high quality, as well as a moderate lead-time and from a vendor who is not under any export regulations of the country of origin. Lead time is a special issue and is getting more and more important because in space, as the complete design cycle gets shorter, the module manufacturers cannot wait 40 or 50 weeks for the components. However, a lot of space components have lead times in that range.
