News: Microelectronics
13 December 2023
EPC Space’s rad-hard GaN used in development kits for space data processing
EPC Space LLC of Haverhill, MA, USA (which provides high-reliability radiation-hardened enhancement-mode gallium nitride power management solutions for space and other harsh environments) is collaborating with Alpha Data — which provides FPGA-based acceleration boards used in high-performance computing and rugged embedded computing — on the development of the ADK-VA601 Versal AI Core Development Kit for Space 2.0. Featuring a fully radiation-tolerant reference design in a deployable VPX format, the kit accelerates the development of adaptable processors for space applications.
The ADK-VA601, an adaptive System on Module (SoM), supports on-board processing (OBP) and on-orbit reconfiguration, enabling multi-sensor data fusion, capacity growth, and the convergence of ground and space networks. ADK-VA601 was developed in collaboration with Texas Instruments, EPC Space and other industry leaders, and it uses EPC Space’s EPC7019G, which is part of EPC Space’s latest generation of radiation-hardened devices.
“We’re offering this as a complete development kit but in an already deployable format which makes it more relevant to customers and streamlines the adaptation process for specific mission requirements,” says EPC Space’s managing director David Miller. “The industry is moving from custom hardware towards modular standards that enable shorter design cycles and cost reduction. End users may still want to do some fine tuning and customization, but if 90% of the work has already been done by us, they can get to space much quicker. That’s the core concept behind this product,” he adds.
“In addition to our efforts in designing in radiation-hardened (rad hard) GaN solutions in all new space power sockets as a viable alternative to the aging rad-hard silicon devices, we are also addressing rad-hard solutions for space-bound development kits such as the next generation of on-orbit processing that accelerates the development timeline of space missions,” says CEO Bel Lazar.
