Characterization and qualification of radiation hardened nonvolatile phase change memory technology

BAE Systems has developed a 4 Mb Non-Volatile Chalcogenide Random Access Memory (C-RAM) optimized for the radiation environments encountered in spacecraft applications. C-RAM is a phase change memory with a unique combination of features that collectively provide a high-density, low-power, non-volatile memory solution that is radiation hardened and meets rigorous reliability requirements. The device has completed QML-Q qualification testing and is now in full production. Flight qualified C-RAM will serve the critical need for rad hard nonvolatile RAM in strategic space and military applications. This paper describes the 4 Mb C-RAM product and presents the results of C-RAM QML-Q qualification testing including detailed analyses of the test results in all the radiation environments.