Design of a radiation-hardened microcomputer for robots and teleoperated systems

Conference · Wed Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 1992 · Transactions of the American Nuclear Society; (United States)

OSTI ID:6682642

Sias, F R; Williams, D A ^[1]

---

1. Clemson Univ., SC (United States)

Radiation-tolerant microcomputers have a number of potential applications in robots and teleoperated systems. Radioactive hazardous waste cleanup, reactor emergencies, and nuclear accidents are scenarios where computer-controlled systems may be used to minimize human exposure to ionizing radiation. Metal-oxide semiconductor (MOS) technology is the basis of the rapid increase in the application of microcomputers. The MOS microcomputer components are known to be sensitive to damage by ionizing radiation. Radiation-resistant or hardened semiconductor components and microprocessors are very expensive and will be used only in highly radioactive environments. Commercially available microcomputers are generally designed with a complement of integrated circuits that include components that are not available in radiation-hardened versions; thus, commercial systems cannot be simply hardened when the application requires increased radiation tolerance. The design described in this paper is a bus-based microcmputer system that may be populated with integrated circuits that are available in either commercial or radiation-hardened versions.

• OSTI ID: 6682642
• Report Number(s): CONF-921102-; CODEN: TANSAO
• Journal Information: Transactions of the American Nuclear Society; (United States), Vol. 66; Conference: Joint American Nuclear Society (ANS)/European Nuclear Society (ENS) international meeting on fifty years of controlled nuclear chain reaction: past, present, and future, Chicago, IL (United States), 15-20 Nov 1992; ISSN 0003-018X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS
99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS//MATHEMATICS, COMPUTING, AND INFORMATION SCIENCE
MICROCOMPUTERS
DESIGN
SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES
RADIATION HARDENING
REMOTE HANDLING
REMOTE HANDLING EQUIPMENT
REMOTE VIEWING EQUIPMENT
ROBOTS
COMPUTERS
DIGITAL COMPUTERS
EQUIPMENT
HARDENING
MATERIALS HANDLING EQUIPMENT
PHYSICAL RADIATION EFFECTS
RADIATION EFFECTS
220200* - Nuclear Reactor Technology- Components & Accessories
990200 - Mathematics & Computers