Radiation-tolerant electronics testing of a prototype isolating preamplifier

This paper describes part of the radiation testing of an isolating preamplifier, a part of the ongoing radiation-tolerant electronics development program at SPAR Aerospace. The circuit tested was a relatively simple isolating preamplifier with floating input and output stages with individual on-board voltage converters. The circuit performance was monitored during irradiation to fully characterize the performance in realistically harsh conditions. In doing so it demonstrates some typical radiation degradation and recovery effects. This helps to prove the potential differences in results between on-line radiation testing and passive testing. as a long history of building equipment for use in hostile environments, including fusion reactors. These fusion reactors have a number of pressing design challenges that would benefit from the development of radiation-tolerant electronics. These include a large number of diagnostic signals to be taken through the cryostat and the control signals for the rather large-scale remote-handling equipment.