Modeling a Broadband Amplifier on a Printed Circuit Board with an Increased Conductivity Dielectric

Abstract

Spacecraft are affected by cosmic plasma electrons, which cause the electrification of their dielectric materials. As a result, electrostatic discharges occur, leading to failures in the operation of onboard radio electronics, reducing the period of the active existence of the spacecraft. The use of composite polymer dielectrics with increased conductivity is a promising method for protecting against the effects of electrostatic discharges. This paper presents the results of modeling the characteristics of a broadband amplifier made on a printed circuit board using a highly conductive composite dielectric. Resistances are added to the model of the ongoing electrical processes that characterize current leakage from the circuit nodes to the zero conductor due to the decrease in the specific volume resistance of the printed circuit board’s material. A computer simulation of a broadband amplifier and an experimental study of its performance in the operating frequency band of 0.5–70 MHz are carried out. It is shown that a change in the bandwidth and gain occurs only when the conductivity becomes higher than 6 × 10^–4 Ohm^–1 m^–1. The results of an experimental study of a broadband amplifier show that the proposed model for accounting for the specific volume resistance of the printed circuit board material adequately describes its characteristics. The fact that even with a conductivity of 10^–9 Ohm^–1 m^–1 electrostatic discharges are excluded indicates the possibility of protecting broadband amplifiers as part of the radio-electronic devices of spacecraft from electrification when using composite dielectrics of increased conductivity.