Rad-tolerant MCUs from Atmel geared for space apps

Atmel Corp. has begun shipping the Atmel ATmegaS128 MCU for next-generation space applications. The ATmegaS128, which the company said is the first uC rad-tolerant device for Atmel, offers full wafer lot traceability, 64-lead ceramic package (CQFP), space screening, space qualification according to QML and ESCC flow and total ionising dose up to 30Krad (Si) for space applications.

The ATMegaS128 is "latch up" immune thanks to a dedicated silicon process: SEL LET > 62.5Mev at 125°C, 8MHz/3.3V. SEU to heavy ions is estimated to 10-3 error/device/day for Low Earth Orbit applications.

With billions of commercial AVR devices widely deployed throughout the world, the space-grade AVR family benefits from support of the Atmel Studio ecosystem and allows aerospace developers to use the industrial-version of the ATmega AVR to prototype their applications for a fraction of the cost. The ATmegaS128 is available in a ceramic hermetic packaging and is pin-to-pin and drop-in compatible with existing ATmega128 MCUs, allowing flexibility between commercial and qualified devices, enabling faster-time-to-market and minimising development costs. With this cost-effective approach and a plastic Hirel-qualified version, the ATmegaS128 can be also considered in more general aerospace applications including class A and B avionic critical cases where radiation tolerance is also a key requirement.

To ease the design process and accelerate time-to-market, Atmel offers a complete STK600 starter kit and development system for the ATmegaS128 AVR MCU giving designers a quick start to develop code on the AVR with advanced features for prototyping and testing new designs. Customers can also start their designs with an industrial version of the ATmega128, with the exact pin-out of the ATmegaS128, to save costs. The AVRs are supported by the Atmel Studio IDP for developing and debugging Atmel | SMART ARM processor-based MCUs and Atmel AVR MCU applications, along with the Atmel Software Framework.

Atmel is engaging with alpha customers on the ATmegaS128 devices.