Nuclear Engineering and Technology

Korean Nuclear Society (한국원자력학회)
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Radiation testing of low cost, commercial off the shelf microcontroller board

  • Fried, Tomas (Engineering Department, Lancaster University) ;
  • Di Buono, Antonio (Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, The University of Manchester) ;
  • Cheneler, David (Engineering Department, Lancaster University) ;
  • Cockbain, Neil (National Nuclear Laboratory) ;
  • Dodds, Jonathan M. (National Nuclear Laboratory) ;
  • Green, Peter R. (Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, The University of Manchester) ;
  • Lennox, Barry (Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, The University of Manchester) ;
  • Taylor, C. James (Engineering Department, Lancaster University) ;
  • Monk, Stephen D. (Engineering Department, Lancaster University)
  • Received : 2020.10.21
  • Accepted : 2021.05.05
  • Published : 2021.10.25
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Abstract

The impact of gamma radiation on a commercial off the shelf microcontroller board has been investigated. Three different tests have been performed to ascertain the radiation tolerance of the device from a nuclear decommissioning deployment perspective. The first test analyses the effect of radiation on the output voltage of the on-board voltage regulator during irradiation. The second test evaluated the effect of gamma radiation on the voltage characteristics of analogue and digital inputs and outputs. The final test analyses the functionality of the microcontroller when using an external, shielded voltage regulator instead of the on-board voltage regulator. The results suggest that a series of latch-ups occurs in the microcontroller during irradiation, causing increased current drain which can damage the voltage regulator if it does not have short-circuit protection. The analogue to digital conversion functionality appears to be more sensitive to gamma radiation than digital and analogue output functionality. Using an external, shielded voltage regulator can prove beneficial when used for certain applications. The collected data suggests that detaching the voltage regulator can extend the lifespan of the platform up to approximately 350 Gy.

Keywords

Acknowledgement

This work has been supported by the Centre for Innovative Nuclear Decommissioning (CINDe), which is led by the National Nuclear Laboratory, in partnership with Sellafield Ltd and a network of Universities that includes the University of Manchester, Lancaster University, the University of Liverpool and the University of Cumbria, partially through EPSRC EP/P01366X/1: Robotics for Nuclear Environments and EP/R02572X/1: National Centre for Nuclear Robotics (NCNR). In addition, the authors would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the support of Ruth Edge and Kevin Warren at The University of Manchester Dalton Cumbrian Facility (DCF), a partner in the National Nuclear User Facility, the EPSRC UK National Ion Beam Centre and the Henry Royce Institute.

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