Microchip Technology announces radiation testing milestones for PIC64-HPSC

Microchip Technology has reported initial radiation tolerance results for its PIC64-HPSC (High-Performance Spaceflight Computing) platform. Developed in collaboration with NASA and JPL, this 64-bit multicore RISC-V platform is designed for satellites, deep space probes, and mission-critical space vehicles.

The radiation-hardened variant, PIC64-HPSC1000-RH, demonstrated a total ionizing dose (TID) tolerance of up to 200 krad(Si) during initial characterization. This level exceeds the requirements for many low Earth orbit missions and may support missions to the Moon or Mars. Additionally, the chip showed no Single Event Latch-up (SEL) up to a LET of 78.2 MeV·cm²/mg under specified operating conditions. In Single Event Effect (SEE) testing, the system controller produced no uncorrectable errors and required no external resets in completed tests.

Microchip noted that these results represent initial characterization rather than full qualification. Through an Early Access Program, selected customers have already begun testing the silicon and development kits.