Intersil has introduced a radiation-hardened 32-channel driver with integrated decoder that reduces the size, weight, and power (SWaP) of satellite command and telemetry systems. ISL72813SEH is the industry's first high-current driver to integrate decoders, level shifters, and driver arrays into a single monolithic IC, enabling satellite manufacturers to significantly increase system capacity and reduce solution size by up to 50% . Compared to its nearest competitor, the device has four times more density channels, while the integrated level shifter eliminates several peripheral components.
The driver utilizes its proprietary silicon-on-insulator process to provide SEL robustness in heavy ion environments. The driver's integrated decoder directly interfaces with the general-purpose I / O of the FPGA and CPU in the satellite flight computer, which greatly reduces the pin count compared to the competitive 1-input 1-output driver array. Each of the device's 32 common-emitter open-collector driver outputs can generate pulses up to 42V and 600mA. The device addresses latch-up relays and solenoid commands for most satellite control functions, including redundancy management, mechanism drive enable, propulsion component relay and enable, battery management, and payload switch control. Low VCE saturation levels eliminate major customer concerns by reducing the overhead voltage required to drive the load.
"Intersil listened carefully to our technical requirements and developed a solution that allows us to reduce the size of key subsystems by half while also reducing quality, cost and power consumption," said Orbital ATK Space Systems Group senior director of strategic procurement Joanne Woestman said. .
"ISL72813SEH provides our aerospace customers such as Orbital ATK with the integration and performance they need in cutting-edge military and commercial aerospace applications," said Philip Chesley, senior vice president of precision products at Intersil. Quality and power savings play a vital role in Orbital ATK's next-generation satellite. "
