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BAE Systems has received $16 million in Defense Production Act Title III funding via the Department of War's (DOW) Warfighting Investments, Resourcing, and Execution directorate to demonstrate and qualify its radiation-hardened 45 nanometer (nm) technology.
For more than a decade, RH45® technology has enabled space customers to develop their own solutions with a library of advanced capabilities and proven application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) design and manufacturing methods. With manufacturing now on GlobalFoundries' proven 45nm silicon-on-insulator (SOI) technology through the firm's facility in Malta, New York, this contract reestablishes the RH45 ASIC Storefront. It strengthens the domestic supply chain for state-of-the-art radiation-hardened microelectronics, enabling missions that depend on cost-effective, high-performance capabilities.
The RH45 ASIC Storefront is a high-reliability, radiation-hardened platform offering a suite of qualified building blocks compatible with industry-standard design tools that allow customers to develop their own integrated circuit designs. Based on commercial 45nm technology, these building blocks provide critical functions needed for space operations. RH45 chips can withstand the harsh space environment with better power and performance than prior generations of transistor electronics. Used in the most demanding environments, these chips enable military, civil, and commercial customers to carry out planetary exploration, communications, national security, surveillance, and weather operations. These chips also play a key role in strategic radiation-hardened missions for defense applications.
"Design flexibility is important when it comes to supporting space missions," said Joe Dziezynski, Space Systems product line director at BAE Systems. "Our RH45 ASIC library is a unique and trusted capability that allows our customers to target specific functions while meeting radiation-hardened requirements. These integrated circuits are the heart of computers whose advanced processing powering cannot fail when carrying out critical objectives in the challenging space environment."
"This investment builds upon our longstanding partnership with BAE Systems, a valued customer of our differentiated SOI technology," said Ezra Hall, senior director of Aerospace and Defense Business Line at GlobalFoundries. "It reaffirms our commitment to providing continuity of supply for critical defense applications and to supporting BAE Systems with secure, U.S.-manufactured semiconductor solutions. Together, we are accelerating the development of next-generation technologies that meet the highest standards of performance, reliability, and security – including in challenging space environments for critical space missions."
RH45 technology is being integrated into single-board computers (SBCs) that will be available to space agencies and spacecraft manufacturers, including BAE Systems' Endura™ SBC. Endura will provide powerful processor cores, hardware accelerated input/output, and advanced security features to deliver exponential improvements in size, speed, and power efficiency. As a platform-agnostic supplier, BAE Systems develops and produces high-reliability space electronics, from standard components and SBCs to complete system payloads.
Work on the RH45 ASIC is performed by BAE Systems' Space Systems group in Manassas, Virginia. This facility is a U.S. Department of War Category 1A Microelectronics Trusted Source, covering design, aggregation, broker, packaging and assembly, and test services.
