Scientists from the Department of Electronics and the Department of Micro- and Nanoelectronics of the MEPhI have designed a functional unit – a radiation-resistant microwave signal amplifier. Amplification units of this type are usually used as part of microwave transceivers to provide the required level of the output signal (power amplifiers) or to amplify a weak input signal with minimal distortion (low-noise amplifiers).

When creating such functional blocks, developers prioritize different characteristics. “Some people care about reliability, others need the unit to operate at ultra-low or ultra-high temperatures, others need protection from mechanical damage, etc.,” explains Nikita Zhidkov, research engineer at the Center for Extreme Applied Electronics of the MEPhI. – Radiation protection was important for us. As a result, we were able to develop the topology of such a semiconductor crystal, which, taking into account the required electrical parameters, initially also has radiation resistance.”

Thus, a new parameter has been introduced into the development of the methodology for creating microwave amplifiers - radiation resistance. According to the developers, the amplifier is quite versatile, and where to use it - in space, in complex communication systems, in physical experiments at CERN, in detection systems - is at the discretion of specific users.

At the same time, to create this functional block, the staff of MEPhI actually had to supplement the design methodology. Everyone involved in the development of radiation-resistant electronics is faced with a large number of problems, including the lack of technological libraries of microwave elements equipped with radiation-oriented models, the lack of functional blocks with known radiation resistance indicators, the absence of a number of important operations related to radiation resistance, in a typical design route and many others. The assessment of product compliance with RS requirements was carried out already at the final design stage (and work usually lasts two to three years), and there was no feedback between the test results and the design stages.