Microsemi Corporation announced its LX7730 radiation-tolerant telemetry controller integrated circuit (IC) has been successfully qualified and certified by the U.S. Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) as Qualified Manufacturers List (QML) Class V and Q. The qualifications, key requirements for the LX7730 to operate in space environments, are mandatory for design-ins for space programs and for manufacturers to be listed on the QML by the DLA.
“Successfully completing these qualifications and obtaining QML status are vital in providing the highest quality and most reliable solutions demanded by our customers,” said Dorian Johnson, Microsemi’s high-reliability product marketing manager. “Our LX7730 not only offers space system architects and designers the highest level of integration for telemetry applications available today, but also guarantees they are using a product that meets the stringent requirements of MIL-PRF-38535 defining the quality assurance and reliability conditions for the manufacture of ICs for high-reliability applications.”
As the first member of Microsemi’s radiation-tolerant Space System Manager (SSM) family of special purpose mixed signal devices, launched in March 2015, the LX7730 integrates the required functions in satellite telemetry systems. These functions include a 64-channel analog multiplexer, a 12-bit analog to digital converter, break-before-make switching and a precision adjustable current source. It supports parallel or dual serial peripheral interfaces (SPIs) and also provides cold sparing. The new IC interfaces with radiation-tolerant field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) such as Microsemi’s new RTG4™ high-speed signal processing FPGA and the RTAX family offered in the company’s growing portfolio of FPGA solutions.
“We selected the LX7730 for our telemetry and control card designed to the ANSI ratified 3U SpaceVPX specification based on the critical functions offered in the device,” said Drew Boudreau, principal systems engineer at Trident Systems Incorporated. “The 64-channel multiplexer is key to addressing our needs for acquiring numerous system sensor data and paired with an RTAX-SL provides a true low power telemetry processing solution.”
According to Allied Market Research, in its “Small Satellite Market by Type” report from March 2017, the small satellite market is expected to grow approximately 20 percent during 2016-2022. The LX7730 enables a higher level of flight-critical telemetry acquisition without compromising the small form-factor and low mass of these emerging minisat and microsat satellite programs, while at the same time reducing power consumption and providing mitigation for the damaging effects of radiation in space. Additional benefits of the new IC are a significant reduction in board space and weight compared to traditional discrete solutions, making this a desirable component for telemetry data handling in small satellite systems.
The newly qualified versions of Microsemi’s LX7730, the LX7730MFQ-Q and the LX7730MFQ-V, now in production, are ideal for a number of applications within the aerospace market, including communications, Earth observations and weather satellites.
Microsemi’s LX7730MFQ-Q and LX7730MFQ-V radiation-tolerant telemetry controller ICs are available in production quantities now and are listed under SMD 5962-1721901 with the DLA.
More information: http://www.microsemi.
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