Driver with integrated decoder for satellite applications reduces command and telemetry solution size

Intersil Corporation 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. The ISL72813SEH is claimed to be the industry’s first high current driver to integrate the decoder, level shifter and driver array in a single monolithic IC, allowing satellite manufacturers to significantly increase system capacity and reduce solution size by up to 50%. The device offers a four-times higher density channel count compared to the nearest competitor, and the integrated level shifter eliminates several peripheral components. The driver leverages their proprietary silicon on insulator process, which provides SEL robustness in heavy ion environments. The driver’s integrated decoder interfaces directly to the general purpose I/Os of FPGAs and CPUs in the satellite’s flight computer, dramatically reducing pin count compared to competitive 1-input to 1-output driver arrays. Each of the device’s 32-channels of common-emitter open-collector driver outputs can generate pulses of up to 42V and 600mA. The device addresses latching relay and solenoid commanding for most satellite control functions, including redundancy management, mechanism drive enables, propulsion component relays and enables, battery management, and payload switch control. It’s low VCE saturation levels eliminate a major customer concern by reducing the overhead voltage required to drive the load. The driver’s power efficiency and high integration reduces the amount of circuitry required on the bus, allowing customers to add more spacecraft functionality and processing power. “Intersil listened carefully to our technical requirements and crafted a solution that enabled us to reduce the size of a critical subsystem’s by half while also reducing mass, cost and power,” said Joanne Woestman, senior director of strategic sourcing at Orbital ATK Space Systems Group. “The ISL72813SEH gives our space customers like Orbital ATK the integration and performance they need for cutting edge military and commercial space applications,” said Philip Chesley, senior vice president of Precision Products at Intersil. “The mass and power savings our rad hard devices deliver play a critical role in Orbital ATK’s next generation satellites.”