ST Collaborates with Xilinx to Power Radiation-Hardened FPGAs using ST Space-Qualified Regulators

STMicroelectronics announced it is collaborating with Xilinx to build a power solution for the Xilinx Kintex® UltraScale™ XQRKU060 radiation-tolerant FPGA, leveraging QML-V qualified voltage regulators from ST’s space-products portfolio.

The programmability of the Xilinx XQRKU060 revolutionizes the economics of equipment like space-research instruments and commercial satellites. The device delivers a combination of high compute density and integration that historically required an application-specific IC (ASIC), which typically involves custom design with associated engineering expenses and turnaround time. Unlike an ASIC, the XQRKU060 FPGA can be reconfigured in orbit, allowing bug fixes and updates to be applied cost-effectively at any time to protect the mission.

ST worked closely with Xilinx to design a power source that ensures reliable operation of the XQRKU060 by providing excellent fixed-point voltage accuracy as well as stability in the event of transients due to normal FPGA operation and radiation events. The solution uses ST’s RHRPMPOL01 rad-hard point of load 7A monolithic synchronous step-down regulator and RHFL6000A linear voltage regulator, all SEL immune and QML-V qualified (more info).