Characterization of a fully resonant, 1-MHz, 25-Watt, DC/DC converter fabricated in a rad-hard BiCMOS/high-voltage process

This paper presents the characterization of a DC/DC converter prototype when its power integrated circuit (PIC) chip is exposed to total dose, dose rate, neutron, and heavy ion environments. This fully resonant, 1-MHz, 25-Watt, DC/DC converter is composed of a brassboard, populated with input/output filters, isolation transformers, output rectifier, capacitors, resistors, and PIC chip, integrating the primary-side control circuitry, secondary-side control circuitry, power switch, gate-drive circuitry, and voltage references. The brassboard is built using commercial off-the-shelf components; and the PIC chip is fabricated using AT&T's rad-hard, bipolar complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (BiCMOS)/high-voltage process. The intent of this paper is to demonstrate that the PIC chip is fabricated with a radiation-hardened process and to demonstrate that various analog, digital, and power functions can be effectively integrated.