The first space-grade COTS-based radiation-resistant Ethernet transceiver and embedded microcontroller

     Ethernet is widely used in spacecraft, it can improve the communication speed and data transmission rate between hard-wired systems, and create conditions for the interoperability between satellites and other spacecraft. Microchip Technology has unveiled the industry's first space-grade radiation-resistant Ethernet transceiver in recognition of the growing use of Ethernet in space. The new offerings build on commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) solutions widely adopted by other industries to provide reliable performance for applications such as launch vehicles, satellite networking and space stations.

     The newly released VSC8541RT radiation-resistant Ethernet transceiver is in the prototype stage. In addition, Microchip's new SAM3X8ERT radiation-resistant microcontroller, featuring the latest Arm® Cortex®-M3 core processor and embedded Ethernet controller, has received final certification. Both products can be used alone or together to meet the needs of radiation-resistant devices in the space sector.

     Both products are COTS-based, built according to a highly reliable quality process, with increased radiation resistance, and are available in both plastic and ceramic package sizes. COTS products use the same pin allocation pattern as their aerospace counterparts, allowing designers to design with COTS components and then migrate to aerospace components, significantly reducing development time and costs.

     Bob Vampola, assistant vice president of Microchip's Aerospace and Defense business unit, said: "As the first company to provide radiation-resistant transceivers and enhanced radiation-resistant microcontrollers for the rapidly growing high-reliability Ethernet market, Microchip will continue to help the space industry evolve and innovate with high-quality, reliable solutions. "Microchip's COTS-based aerospace grade processing devices have the performance and specifications to meet the evolving needs of low-Earth orbit satellite constellations, deep space exploration missions, and more."

     Microchip's latest devices are part of a wide range of COTS-based radiation-resistant microelectronic devices that support Ethernet connectivity and are widely used in satellite platforms, data payloads, sensor bus control, remote terminal communications, spacecraft networking, space station module connectivity, and more.

     The VSC8541RT transceiver is a single-port gigabit Ethernet copper physical layer device with GMII, RGMII, MII, and RMII interfaces. Its radiation resistance has been verified and documented in detail in the report. The VSC8541RT has a blocking immunity of up to 78 Mev and can withstand a total ionization dose effect value (TID) of 100 Krad. The VSC8540RT transceiver has a relatively limited bit transfer rate of 100 MBps, but uses the same radiation-resistant core and package as the VSC8541RT, and is also available in both plastic and ceramic package sizes, so customers can choose the most cost-effective product according to the needs of their target application.

     The SAM3X8ERT radiation-resistant microcontroller is deployed on a system-on-chip (SoC) and uses the widely used Arm® Cortex-M3 core processor, which delivers 100 DMIPS of processing power, as does the industrial version ecosystem of the processor. SAM3X8ERT caters to the trend of system integration in the space industry, allowing more advanced technologies to be applied to the space sector. In addition to Ethernet capabilities, the SAM3X8ERT includes 512 KB dual-partitioned flash memory, 100 KB SRAM, ADC, DAC, and dual CAN controllers.

     These latest devices enrich Microchip's line of radiation-resistant and radiation-resistant hardware processing solutions and use the same development tools as the SAMV71Q21RT Arm® M7 series microcontrollers with processing capabilities up to 600 DMIPS and the ATmegaS128/64M1 series 8-bit microcontrollers.