Session
Technical Session I: Advanced Component Developments
Abstract
The RIO Smart Sensor chip is APL's analog-digital, radiation-hardened, low-power, data acquisition device suitable for spacecraft and instrument data collection. The chip communicates over a standard serial I2C bus or a standard parallel bus. RIO, in its complete version, will measure temperatures using external thermistors, total ionizing dose using external radFETs, and voltages and currents. Its sensing capability can extend to other physical quantities such as photons, vibration, etc. A first version of this chip, is focusing on temperature measurements only (TRIO chip). TRIO measures 16 temperature channels using external platinum resistance thermometers (PRTs). It can also measure voltages only, using an external voltage reference. The TRIO chip contains all of the front-end analog conditioning circuitry, the analog multiplexer (MUX), a 10-bit analog-digital converter (ADC), memory, and both a serial I2C and standard parallel interface. TRIO can operate in a fIxed mode, where only a particular sensor is addressed, digitized, and read out, or in a scanning mode where all 16 sensors are sequentially and continuously scanned, digitized, and stored into self-contained memory. This single chip system will be a valuable enabling technology for next-generation small spacecraft.
A Remote I/O (RIO) Smart Sensor Analog-Digital Chip for Next Generation Spacecraft
The RIO Smart Sensor chip is APL's analog-digital, radiation-hardened, low-power, data acquisition device suitable for spacecraft and instrument data collection. The chip communicates over a standard serial I2C bus or a standard parallel bus. RIO, in its complete version, will measure temperatures using external thermistors, total ionizing dose using external radFETs, and voltages and currents. Its sensing capability can extend to other physical quantities such as photons, vibration, etc. A first version of this chip, is focusing on temperature measurements only (TRIO chip). TRIO measures 16 temperature channels using external platinum resistance thermometers (PRTs). It can also measure voltages only, using an external voltage reference. The TRIO chip contains all of the front-end analog conditioning circuitry, the analog multiplexer (MUX), a 10-bit analog-digital converter (ADC), memory, and both a serial I2C and standard parallel interface. TRIO can operate in a fIxed mode, where only a particular sensor is addressed, digitized, and read out, or in a scanning mode where all 16 sensors are sequentially and continuously scanned, digitized, and stored into self-contained memory. This single chip system will be a valuable enabling technology for next-generation small spacecraft.
