Design, construction and Programming of a Microcontroller-Based Testbench Suitable for Radiation Testing of Microelectronic Circuits

by John A. Thompson

This is a NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL MONTEREY CA report procured by the Pentagon and made available for public release. It has been reproduced in the best form available to the Pentagon. It is not spiral-bound, but rather assembled with Velobinding in a soft, white linen cover. The Storming Media report number is A514333. The abstract provided by the Pentagon This thesis describes the design, construction, and programming of a microcontroller- based testbench suitable for radiation testing microelectronic integrated circuits. It will be used to test circuits fabricated using the Low Temperature Gallium Arsenide (LT GaAs) fabrication process developed by the Naval Postgraduate School and the Naval Research Laboratory. The testbench will be used to test for sensitivity to Single Event Upsets (changes in logic level due to impact by high energy ions). Due to the spurious radiation around the particle accelerator, it will be remotely operated via a serial communication port. Radiation hardened components will eventually be used throughout, although for cost- savings, non-radiation hardened components are used in the initial design described here. The test bench is built around the Intel 8%C51 four-port microcontroller. As part of this research, it will be programmed to test two memory chips, one manufactured by Motorola Inc. and one by Vitesse Semiconductor Corporation. The Motorola chip requires that a special chip carrier with logic translation and output drivers be designed prior to testing.

130 pages, Spiral-bound

Published January 1, 1997

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John A. Thompson is Emeritus Reader in American History at the University of Cambridge. He is the author of Reformers and War: American Progressive Publicists and the First World War and Woodrow Wilson: A Profile in Power.