The single-event-effect behaviour of commercial-off-the-shelf memory devices. A decade in low-Earth orbit

Abstract

This paper presents the results of a 10-year study on radiation effects in commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) memory devices operating within the on-board data handling systems of five low-Earth orbiting micro-satellites, designed and built at the University of Surrey (UoS). The ionising particle environment inside three of these spacecraft has been investigated concurrently using radiation monitoring payloads developed by UoS and the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (DERA). Through the use of these monitoring instruments, and an allied programme of ground-based testing of the memory devices, the industry-standard computer models of the radiation environment have been verified, and the memory device behaviour has characterised with respect to single-event (SEEs) due to galactic cosmic-rays, geomagnetically trapped particles, and solar particles.