IN Brief:
- The RIC70115 supports high-side and low-side control of GaN HEMTs and silicon power transistors.
- It is specified for a 100krad total ionising dose and characterised to an LET of 81.9MeV·cm²/mg.
- Integrated drive and protection functions reduce external circuitry in radiation-exposed power converters.
Infineon has introduced a radiation-hardened gate driver for gallium nitride and silicon power transistors used in satellites, spacecraft payloads, and other high-reliability electronic systems.
The RIC70115 can operate as either a high-side or low-side driver, allowing it to support several converter topologies without requiring separate control devices. It provides 1.5A source and 2.5A sink capability and integrates a differential input, Miller clamp, and low-dropout regulator within a 16-pin ceramic leadless chip-carrier package.
Specified to withstand a total ionising dose of 100krad, the device has also been characterised for single-event effects at a linear energy transfer of 81.9MeV·cm²/mg. Its operating temperature range extends from -55°C to 125°C, covering the wide thermal conditions encountered across launch, orbit, eclipse cycles, and exposed spacecraft structures.
Radiation can alter semiconductor characteristics gradually through accumulated ionising dose, while individual energetic particles can produce immediate transient or destructive events. Gate drivers occupy a sensitive position within that chain because an unintended output transition can switch a power transistor at the wrong moment, producing shoot-through, excessive current, or loss of converter control.
Because switching devices operate between control electronics and high-energy power stages, their behaviour during abnormal conditions must remain predictable. A processor may recover from a transient error, whereas an uncontrolled power transistor can damage a converter before supervisory software has time to respond.
GaN devices intensify those requirements. Their high switching speeds reduce switching losses and allow smaller magnetic components, but rapid voltage transitions increase sensitivity to gate-loop inductance, parasitic capacitance, common-mode noise, and PCB geometry. Even a brief unintended gate excursion can produce substantial current in a low-impedance power stage.
The integrated Miller clamp helps prevent false turn-on caused by charge transferred through the transistor’s drain-to-gate capacitance during rapid voltage changes. Differential signalling improves immunity to common-mode interference, while the internal regulator reduces the number of external supply components that must themselves be qualified for radiation exposure.
Spacecraft power demand is rising as platforms carry higher-resolution imaging equipment, onboard AI processing, phased-array communications, electric propulsion, and more capable scientific instruments. At the same time, launch mass, available panel area, and thermal rejection remain tightly constrained, encouraging the adoption of higher-frequency converters with improved power density.
Although GaN devices can deliver those efficiency gains, qualification extends beyond the transistor and driver. Passive components, isolation devices, PCB materials, package attachment, thermal interfaces, and control firmware must all withstand the same environment, while interactions between them must be characterised across radiation, temperature, and ageing.
Infineon has been strengthening its wider GaN position as the material moves into higher-volume power applications. A Munich court ruling concerning the company’s GaN intellectual property illustrated the commercial value attached to process and device technology, while a new power-semiconductor fabrication facility in Dresden has added European production capacity for electrification and energy-conversion devices.
Radiation-hardened components occupy a smaller market, but they face more exacting continuity requirements. Satellite and defence programmes can remain in development, qualification, production, and support for many years, leaving suppliers responsible for preserving processes, test capability, technical documentation, and traceability long after a mainstream commercial component would have been replaced.
Trusted processing supply is being addressed in parallel. BAE Systems’ Endura radiation-hardened processor programme reflects the same requirement for components whose manufacturing provenance, long-term behaviour, and lifecycle support are compatible with extended missions.
The RIC70115 is being developed to comply with MIL-PRF-38535 requirements, with qualification work under way for the relevant high-reliability manufacturing framework. Ceramic packaging and integrated protection reduce the number of separate parts within the gate-drive path, although application qualification will still be conducted at board and converter level.
As spacecraft electrical loads increase, power conversion can no longer be treated as a secondary subsystem assembled from broadly suitable commercial parts. The driver, transistor, control loop, layout, and thermal structure must be developed as a single switching system, particularly when fast GaN devices are operating in an environment where recovery or physical repair is impossible.
