TECH BRIEF
Teledyne e2v Microprocessors:
High Reliability Dierentiators
Nov 2019
Let’s play a technical quizz today…are you ready?
Are you able to list the top requirements of critical
heavy computing systems such as Avionics, Space &
Defense systems in less than 15 seconds?
Did you answer some of the following: Longevity,
Reliability, Harsh environments compliancy,
Extended Lifetime, …?
This looks like a good start!
For more than 35 years, Teledyne e2v has
successfully delivered generations of High
Reliability Microprocessors, to worldwide
Avionics, Space & Defense customers including
Airbus, Boeing, NASA, ESA,…
In this paper, we will first list the top needs from
Aerospace & Defense customers, then detail how
Teledyne e2v Microprocessors are perfectly
suited for those High Reliability requirements,
prior to a deep dive into the qualification of these
High Reliability Microprocessors.
Electrical & Mechanical product integrity in
Extended Temperature Ranges
Avionics, Space & Defense systems are designed to
work in various conditions compared to our daily
objects such as our cars and mobile phones.
It is pretty easy to understand that extension
of temperature range is among the first
requirements.
An aircraft cruising at an altitude of 10,000m /
35,000 feet or a satellite in the shadow of the earth
are both exposed to temperature far below 0C.
While the electronic systems are obviously well
protected, they have to behave as predictably at very
cold temperatures than at standard ones.
On the other side, systems must also be capable
to function perfectly in very hot conditions: either
due to the nature of their targeted application, or
because of constrained environments, specific on
board enclosures, or even fanless designs required
for reliability reasons or to be sure systems still work
in the worst conditions.
This often leads to electronic products designed
and therefore qualified on a wide range of
operations, such as -55C to 125C (sometimes
called Military Grade), as shown on Figure 1.
Solder balls finishing
Solder balls finishing is also a key topic for Aerospace,
Space & Defense customers. In integrated circuit
packaging, the solder balls are the network of
contacts underneath the device, aimed to be
soldered on a printed circuit board (PCB).
Systems manufacturers have been used to work with
tin-lead balls (also written Sn-Pb) for many years;
lead has indeed been widely believed historically to
mitigate the formation of tin whiskers, though the
AVIONICS, SPACE & DEFENSE MARKETS COMPUTE INTENSIVE NEEDS
ABSTRACT
Page 1
Fig. 1: Avionics, Space & Defense Temperature
Requirements versus Industrial Grade.
FOR MORE INFORMATION: https://www.teledyne-e2v.com/products/semiconductors/processors
precise mechanism is unknown. These leaded ball
finishing are written SnPb, versus other type of balls
not containing lead.
Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directives
(RoHS), which limits the inclusion of lead in most
consumer products, has triggered the deployment
of a tin-silver-copper solder process, also called
lead-free or RoHS.
During years, manufacturers of components such as
Microprocessors, were proposing both leaded (Sn-
Pb) and lead-free (RoHS) options, but since about
ten years, the trend has been towards proposing
only RoHS option.
Since lead-free properties are less thoroughly known,
they may be less popular in critical applications such
as Aerospace, Space & Defense. Transition from
leaded to lead-free adds naturally some lead-time
for customers to adopt the lead-free technology.
Today, the adoption rate for Lead-free is higher in
Europe versus other US and Asia-Pacific regions, but
yet very far from being 100% to date. In Avionics &
Defense systems across Europe, the run rate for lead
free is still not at 100%.
The adoption rate for Lead free devices is much lower
in Avionics & Defense systems in both US & Asia.
Therefore there is a strong market requirement to
continue manufacturing and qualifying components
with leaded solder finishing.
Longevity
Longevity can either be seen as a key point for
Avionics, Space & Defense systems, or a burden…
and probably both.
Why ? Well… for the following reasons.
In Avionics, financial investments are very important
to manufacture safety critical systems; the overall
lead time to manufacture, certify and have the
system qualified by Aviation Authorities is very long
(between 5 and 10 years). Therefore, once a system
is qualified, Avionics manufacturers wish to re-use
the system without a single modification.
Translated into an electronic procurement world, this
means being capable to source the devices during
several decades, in order to keep manufacturing the
same proven systems without a single modification.
Look around you and you will notice how old some
aircrafts may be, without any compromise on
security.
TELEDYNE E2V HIGH RELIABILITY
MICROPROCESSORS QUALIFICATION
Teledyne e2v has been manufacturing High Reliability
Microprocessors for more than 35 years, with the
following key advantages for Avionics, Space &
Defense customers:
• Extended Temperature Range: -55 to 125C
• Qualifications of both lead-free (RoHS) &
Leaded solder balls product variants.
• Long Term Supply (15+ years).
• Teledyne e2v’s product warranty in
extended High Reliability domains.
• Last but not least: Aerospace Certification as
per AS / EN / JIS Q 9100 (Grenoble, France).
Teledyne e2v’s product qualification in High
Reliability domains contains four major steps.
Let’s dive into these steps.
Page 2
TECH BRIEF
Nov 2019
Fig. 2: Ball Finishing.
Teledyne e2v Microprocessors:
High Reliability Dierentiators
FOR MORE INFORMATION: https://www.teledyne-e2v.com/products/semiconductors/processors