●  Communication satellites are mostly “relay stations“ with little intelligence
●  Next generation satellites will decode, remix & recode the entire data stream
●  The driving factor is rights management, i.e. to be able to control what locations receive what signals
●  Improving throughput is always desireable to increase profitability
●  ESA funded reseach for new space-grade data converters
●  advICo & IHP collaborated in the development of a 1.5GS/s 12bit DAC (Digital to Analog Converter) with unrivalled specs & radiation hardness
●  Uninterrupted operation in an extreme environment: 20 years in space with device aging, periodic temperature cycling, & heavy radiation bombardment
●  advICo co-developed the core DAC architecture & developed a novel calibration system that works in the background
●  12bit 1.5GS/s communication DAC for satellite applications (BiCMOS) in strong collaboration with IHP, focusing on calibration, radiation hardness & reliability
●  Guidelines/design rules for radiation tolerant standard cell logic
●  Analysis of physical radiation effects on CMOS logic (space apps)
●  Modelling radiation effects on circuit level (SEE, recovery time, redundancy)
●  Development of start-up and background calibration, clock-generation etc.
●  5x5 mm die size, target package 255-pin ceramic uBGA (7x7mm)