Radiation-hardened circuitry using mask-programmable analog arrays

Description of project: This project developed and demonstrated a general-purpose data acquisition system built from commercial or near-commercial radiation-hard analog and digital arrays that could be the building blocks of a family of future fieldable radiation-hard systems. As the recent accident at Fukushima Daiichi demonstrated, telerobotic technologies capable of withstanding high-radiation environments need to be readily available to enable operations, repair, and recovery in the event of a severe accident where human access to equipment and systems may be limited if even possible. Telerobotic technologies that allow for remote operation in high doserate environments have undergone revolutionary improvement over the past few decades. However, much of this technology may be currently limited for use in nuclear power environments due to its reliance on electronics and organic insulator materials that exhibit radiation sensitivity. The absence of radiation-tolerant electronics is one of the major barriers to effective telerobotic application in support of fuel reprocessing or in post-accident environments. Such electronics, once developed, could be low cost, allowing for frequent replacement when used in high-dose-rate conditions.