Teledyne e2v Unveils Industry’s First 4-Channel ADC for Space
Teledyne e2v has started supplying mixed-signal technology that is capable of delivering exceptional degrees of reliability. The company’s EV12AQ600 has just been confirmed as the industry’s first 4-channel analog-to-digital converter (ADC) to be qualified for space deployment.
“Through our space-qualified EV12AQ600 devices, we can offer customers high-performance data converter solutions that are ready to integrate directly into their systems,” explains Nicolas Chantier, Marketing Director at Teledyne e2v. “It means that they can benefit from flight-proven TRL9 technology, without the need for any further qualification effort.” “Also, with inventory now available, there are much shorter lead times associated with these ADCs than competing solutions currently on the market. Customers can therefore get access to samples straight away,” he adds.
Subjected to comprehensive testing, the EV12AQ600 has shown that it can withstand a total ionizing dose (TID) of 150kRad. Those results, TID and SEE, prove that this device is a perfect fit for space applications like long-term missions or GEO satellites.
In addition, the Teledyne’s ADC had to endure multi-axis mechanical shock and vibration tests, plus electro-static discharge (ESD), extreme temperature and thermal cycling test procedures.
Having successfully passed all of the tests described, it now meets NASA and ESA requirements, complying with the stringent MIL-PRF-38535 (QML-Y) and ESCC 9000 standards.
Teledyne e2v’s EV12AQ600 series devices are already employed in numerous mission-critical military and avionics applications, and space qualification will open up many new opportunities for their usage.
This 12-bit ADCs support 1.6GSps data sampling rates on each of their channels, or 6.4GSps across a single channel when interleaved.
Detailed studies have shown that they do not exhibit the poor interface stability witnessed on devices from other ADC manufacturers when placed into a space environment. Consequently, customers can have full confidence in their long-term operation once they have been deployed there.
As well as the leading-edge performance and operational robustness achieved by the EV12AQ600, this ADC has certain other attributes that will be beneficial for space applications. Thanks to the cross-point switch which is situated after the inputs, this device is much more versatile than other solutions.
