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 more extreme environments than 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 freezing. While the
electronic systems are obviously well protected, they
have to behave as predictably at very cold temperatures
as at standard ones.
On the other side, systems must also be capable
of functionning perfectly in very hot conditions:
with high temperatures driven by the nature of their
targeted application, elevated because of constrained
environments such as on board enclosures or fanless
designs often required for reliability reasons or to be sure
that systems still work in the worst loading conditions.
This often leads to electronic products designed
and therefore qualified over a wide range of
temperatures, such as -55C to 125C (sometimes
called Military Grade), as shown on Figure 1.
Solder ball finishing
Solder ball 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 to a printed circuit board (PCB).
Systems manufacturers had experience working with
tin-lead balls (also written Sn-Pb) for many years;
lead has indeed been widely believed to mitigate
the formation of tin whiskers, though the precise
mechanism is unknown.
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
These leaded ball are identified as Tin-Lead or SnPb,
versus other type of balls not containing lead.
The Restriction of Hazardous Substances
Directives (RoHS), limit the inclusion of lead in
most consumer products and has triggered the
deployment of a tin-silver-copper solder process,
also called lead-free or RoHS.
Over the years, manufacturers of components such
as Microprocessors, have supplied both leaded (Sn-Pb)
and lead-free (RoHS) options, but in the past ten
years, the trend has been towards proposing only
RoHS option.
Since lead-free properties are less thoroughly
known, they have been less popular in critical
applications such as Aerospace, Space & Defense.
Transition from leaded to lead-free solder naturally
adds significant 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 significant
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 any modification.
Translated into an electronic procurement world,
this means being capable of sourcing devices over
several decades, in order to keep manufacturing
the same proven systems without any modification.
Look around you and you will notice how old some
aircrafts and aircraft models are and they operate
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 (SnPb) solder ball 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