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Microchip has unveiled a radiation-tolerant DC power solution specifically designed for LEO satellites. This solution is a reconfigurable commercial device aimed at enhancing both the power and SWaP (Size, Weight, and Power) efficiency of satellite payloads.

Microchip’s new radiation-tolerant DC-DC converter offers high efficiency with a small size and weight

Microchip's new radiation-tolerant DC-DC converter offers high efficiency with a compact form factor.

Designers in the space industry must prioritize radiation tolerance and MIL-STD qualifications, both of which have stringent deployment requirements. Microchip's latest DC-DC converter, the LE50-28, can expedite the qualification process for various applications.

Quick Time to Tolerance

The LE50-28 series delivers radiation tolerance and high performance in a compact size, allowing designers to seamlessly integrate the converter into their devices. The commercial LE50-28 (datasheet) provides a cost-effective alternative to expensive custom power converters for satellite applications, where size, weight, and power are critically constrained.

The LE50-28 offers designers a good tradeoff between raw performance, size/weight efficiency, and radiation tolerance.

The LE50-28 series features a total ionizing dose of up to 50 Krad and single event effects latch-up immunity of 37 MeV×cm2/mg, making it suitable for LEO applications. Additionally, the converter and its accompanying EMI filter weigh 120 g and 82 g, respectively. The converters are also designed to meet MIL-STD-461, providing an accelerated path to qualification.

High-Performance Conversion

The LE50-28 achieves 80% power conversion efficiency at full load, further reducing the size and weight of the payload by minimizing energy storage needs. It is available in two versions: a single-output and a triple-output version, supporting up to 50 W of power, with the possibility of reaching 200 W by paralleling four converters.

The triple-output LE50-28 can provide three unique outputs for different applications while using the same footprint.

The devices offer output voltages ranging from 3.3 V to 28 V and operate off a standard 28-V bus. The accompanying EMI filter helps minimize unintended interference. The converter is also highly robust, boasting a mean time between failures of one million hours.

Microchip’s space-grade portfolio offers designers a broad range of devices, accelerating time to deployment by employing commercial solutions with known performance

The LE50-28 series comes in standard packages, enabling designers to reuse previously developed circuits in new applications.

Building a Space-Grade Portfolio

The LE50-28 joins Microchip's extensive portfolio of space-grade devices, which includes FPGAs, MCUs, memory, timing circuits, and more. This highlights the growing demand for durable and high-performance electronics capable of withstanding the harsh conditions of space.