The idea behind the design is for space system developers to quickly develop prototypes and final designs for a power management system with a radiation-tolerant device based on a familiar plastic commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) product.

It is the company’s first commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) rad-tolerant power device and is a high current, low voltage is a power management chip, available for prototype sampling in both plastic and hermetic ceramic according to the satellite mission requirements.  

Using proven COTS devices makes it easier to conduct preliminary evaluation and early development, says Microchip. The MIC69303RT operates from a single low voltage supply of 1.65 to 5.5V and can supply output voltages as low as 0.5V at high currents, offering high precision and low dropout voltages of 500mV under extreme conditions. The MIC69303RT is a companion power source the company’s radiation-tolerant space-qualified microcontrollers such as the SAM71Q21RT and PolarFire FPGAs including the RTPF500TLS.

The MIC69303RT operates from -55 to 125 degrees C. It is offered in eight- and 10-pin package configurations with radiation tolerance up to 50Krad total dose robustness. The low noise of the output is critical to sensitive RF circuits, post regulation of switching power supplies and industrial power applications.

The MIC69303RT is manufactured in compliance with the following MIL Class Q or Class V requirements: screening testing, qualification testing and TCI/QCI specifications. The plastic MIC69303RT is compliant with high reliability plastic quality flow derived from AEC-Q100 automotive requirements with specific additional tests necessary for space applications.

A MIC69303RT plastic evaluation board is available to evaluate the performance of the plastic engineering IC version. The four-layer PCB allows the user to easily change and measure the electric parameters of the device at different input and output conditions.

The MIC69303RT is available in limited sampling upon request.