New technology for integrating radiation protection into hybrid technology

Hybrid circuits currently used in electronics are very appealing to space borne instrumentation. Indeed, the hybridation allows a very significant reduction in weight and volume of the subsystems. There are, however, some specific difficulties associated with space borne instrumentation. Among other things, the radiation cumulated doses are a very serious constraint requiring efficient protection. A joint effort has been undertaken by CRPE, Alcatel Espace, and CNES to develop new technologies for integrating the radiation protection into the hybrid components. The new radiation protection technology described in this document integrates spot radiation shieldings directly at the level of the sensitive chip by means of thin layers of dense material. The design allows removal of electric charges induced in the material. This technology has been implemented and validated to be used for a first run on the magnetic hybrid preamplifiers onboard the ESA CLUSTER mission