October 1, 2026
ERZIA NewSpace Amplifiers Show No Destructive Single-Event Effects in Heavy-Ion Testing
Meta description (155 char): ERZIA completed heavy-ion SEE testing on NewSpace amplifier DC and power-conditioning components to LET 47 MeV·cm²/mg with no destructive effects observed.
Summary
ERZIA has recently completed a heavy-ion Single-Event Effects (SEE) test campaign on the internal DC and power-conditioning components used across its NewSpace (-NS) amplifier line. Adding to earlier tests, this campaign covered Linear Energy Transfer (LET) values of up to 47 MeV·cm²/mg under electrical bias above nominal operating conditions, following MIL-STD-750 and JESD57. No destructive single-event effects were observed across the tested conditions.
Test Campaign at a Glance
Inside the Test Campaign
The campaign targeted a specific part of the amplifier architecture: the silicon devices that bias, condition and control power inside the NewSpace modules, rather than the RF signal path itself.
Devices were exposed to a heavy-ion beam at NASA Space Radiation Laboratory across the evaluated LET range, up to 47 MeV·cm²/mg, while held under electrical bias deliberately set above their nominal operating point. Biasing above nominal is a more demanding electrical condition than normal operation and adds margin to the resulting characterization data. Across every tested condition, no destructive single-event effects were recorded.
Why Test the Power and Control Components?
In GaN- and GaAs-based amplifier modules, the RF devices are typically among the more radiation-tolerant elements in the design. In addition, the -NS line has dedicated electronic structures that make it even more robust against SEE.
The greater uncertainty sits elsewhere. The silicon devices surrounding the RF chain handle bias, power conditioning and control, and for many parts, detailed heavy-ion data is limited or simply unavailable. That gap is what forces conservative assumptions at the system level.
ERZIA designed this campaign to close it, characterizing the components most likely to require additional radiation assurance in a NewSpace architecture. The approach reflects ERZIA’s broader NewSpace design philosophy, which balances radiation tolerance, reliability, availability and mission schedule. Read more in The New Standard for Microwave Amplifiers in NewSpace: Agility Without Compromising the Mission.
What “No Destructive Single-Event Effects” Means
A single-event effect occurs when one high-energy particle, such as a heavy ion in the space radiation environment, strikes a semiconductor and deposits charge in a sensitive region of the device. Some SEEs are non-destructive: they may temporarily disturb a device’s behavior or output, and the part recovers. Others are destructive, such as single-event burnout or single-event gate rupture, and permanently damage the component.
Destructive events are the reliability concern that matters most for hardware that cannot be serviced in orbit. Across this campaign, no destructive effects of the types screened were induced in the components under test, at LET values up to 47 MeV·cm²/mg and under above-nominal bias.
Why 47 MeV·cm²/mg?
Radiation-hardened components are sometimes specified with guaranteed SEE immunity thresholds above 60 MeV·cm²/mg. That kind of specification serves a different purpose from this campaign.
A rad-hard specification establishes a guaranteed product performance threshold. ERZIA’s testing was designed to generate characterization data for specific components where suitable heavy-ion data was previously limited or unavailable. Linear Energy Transfer describes how much energy an ionizing particle deposits per unit path length as it passes through material, so testing at higher LET simulates the more energetic and generally rarer end of the cosmic ray and solar particle spectrum. Data to 47 MeV·cm²/mg covers a substantial portion of the heavy-ion environment encountered by many Earth-orbit missions and gives system designers real numbers to feed into mission-level radiation analysis.
For missions that require demonstrated performance beyond this range, ERZIA also supplies fully space-qualified amplifier solutions.
Radiation Testing Is One Part of Mission Assurance
These results give customers valuable data for assessing mission-specific radiation needs, which depend on factors such as:
- Orbit and mission duration
- Shielding
- Expected particle environment
ERZIA’s engineering team can support customers working through these factors for a specific mission profile.
Test Documentation and Acceptance Testing
A radiation report is offered as an option for every ERZIA -NS amplifier. The analysis shows an anonymized table of every component inside the unit, with its TID and SEE tolerance and data.
Separately, every ERZIA NewSpace COTS delivery includes a complete Acceptance Test Report covering three temperatures as standard, with additional screening options available on request.
Contact ERZIA to discuss radiation requirements for your mission. You can also explore the complete NewSpace MW&RF product range and download the NewSpace Product Guide.
About ERZIA’s NewSpace Portfolio
ERZIA’s NewSpace portfolio includes both high-power amplifiers (HPAs) and low-noise amplifiers (LNAs) built for demanding space environments and optimized for rapid deployment in commercial satellite missions across Low Earth Orbit (LEO), Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) and Geostationary Orbit (GEO).
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. ERZIA completed several heavy-ion Single-Event Effects test campaigns on the internal DC and power-conditioning components used across its NewSpace (-NS) amplifier line, including the test reported on this blog, at LET values up to 47 MeV·cm²/mg, with no destructive single-event effects observed under the tested conditions.
GaN and GaAs RF devices generally have significant inherent radiation tolerance and substantial published data behind them, as well as wide orbit heritage. The larger information gap surrounds the silicon bias, control and power-conditioning circuitry. ERZIA focused its testing where the data was most needed.
A destructive SEE permanently damages a semiconductor device; examples include single-event burnout and single-event gate rupture. A non-destructive SEE may temporarily alter a device’s behavior or output without causing permanent physical damage.
No. They were electrically biased above their nominal operating point during irradiation, a deliberately more demanding condition than normal operation.
The campaign followed the applicable procedures of MIL-STD-750, an industry-recognized standard for evaluating semiconductor devices and single-event effects.
The campaign was designed to characterize specific components, not to establish a rad-hard product qualification threshold. Missions requiring demonstrated performance at higher LET can be addressed with ERZIA’s fully space-qualified hardware.
No. No single campaign can demonstrate immunity to every radiation mechanism or mission environment. These results address heavy-ion single-event effects under the stated conditions. Mission-level evaluation should also consider total ionizing dose, displacement damage, shielding, orbit, mission duration and system architecture.
The results add radiation-reliability data relevant to LEO, MEO and GEO missions. Applicability to any specific spacecraft depends on its orbit, shielding, expected exposure, lifetime and reliability requirements.
No. Final qualification remains mission-specific. Spacecraft manufacturers and integrators should evaluate this data alongside their own environmental requirements, derating rules, reliability analysis and qualification plans.