Radiation Hardness Assurance (RHA) helps identify the effects of radiation on electronics at an early stage, assess risks, and develop appropriate countermeasures.
In this way, we help our customers operate their systems reliably even under demanding radiation conditions.
Radiation Hardness Assurance (RHA) is essential for guaranteeing the performance and reliability of electronic components and systems exposed to ionizing radiation in demanding environments such as space, aviation, nuclear medicine, and advanced industrial applications.
It encompasses comprehensive testing, evaluation, and quality assurance procedures designed to assess how radiation affects electrical performance and long-term functionality, ensuring that your products meet stringent international standards and perform safely where failure is not an option.
Electronic and electromechanical systems are subject to very different radiation environments depending on their application — from intense cosmic and solar radiation in orbit to ground-based fields in industrial, medical, or accelerator settings.
A clear, mission-specific understanding of these radiation environments is the foundation of effective Radiation Hardness Assurance (RHA).
Accurate environment definition enables the selection of the right test methods, prediction of radiation effects, and qualification of components and systems for high-reliability performance throughout their lifecycle. Seibersdorf Laboratories partners with clients to define, model, and analyze radiation environments, delivering actionable input for RHA programs, qualification campaigns, and design optimization.
The space radiation environment is one of the most challenging for electronic systems, varying with mission profile, altitude, orbit type, and duration. It consists of multiple particle sources that can degrade or disrupt electronics, making early identification of mission-specific spectra essential for RHA planning and compliance with international standards.
Detailed radiation environment definition for space missions combines orbit-specific particle spectra, shielding impacts, and mission duration to generate realistic fluence profiles and dose curves. These environment datasets become critical input for RHA programs and help shape test plans for Total Ionizing Dose (TID), Displacement Damage (DD), and Single Event Effects (SEE) qualification.
Key radiation environment outputs for customers include:
Related topics:
Not all radiation challenges originate in space — many ground-based and industrial environments also require rigorous RHA planning. Seibersdorf Laboratories defines tailored radiation profiles and supports RHA for diverse non-space applications where ionizing radiation impacts system performance:
Nuclear Facilities
Complex mixed fields of gamma rays, neutrons, and beta particles near reactors or fuel handling zones require component qualification to meet safety, reliability, and regulatory criteria.
Accelerator Environments
Particle accelerators produce high-energy mixed radiation fields where displacement damage, SEE rates, and material degradation must be accounted for during RHA and test planning.
Nuclear Medicine & Healthcare
Medical imaging and therapy systems operate in controlled but intense radiation fields. RHA provides confidence that electronics maintain performance and safety over repeated clinical use.
Aviation and Avionics
Cosmic radiation at flight altitudes introduces soft error risk and cumulative dose effects in avionics and safety systems. Understanding these environments informs appropriate design and qualification strategies.
To derive robust application-specific radiation profiles, we combine industry standards, empirical measurement data, advanced simulations, and operational constraints. These profiles help you:
This comprehensive approach ensures your products are validated against realistic operational conditions — whether in space, industrial, medical, or high-altitude aviation environments.
Even at Earth’s surface, cosmic rays — high-energy particles from space that interact with the atmosphere — generate secondary neutrons and other particles that can disturb sensitive electronics. These interactions may cause soft errors or transient events in memories, processors, and other components.
A widely used reliability metric is the Failure-In-Time (FIT) rate, expressing expected failures per one billion device-hours. FIT analyses based on ground-level cosmic radiation help estimate how often radiation-induced events may occur in real-world products and feed into RHA planning, design validation, and long-term reliability strategies.
Electronic components exposed to ionizing radiation can experience different types of degradation or failure depending on the radiation source, energy spectrum, and exposure duration. In Radiation Hardness Assurance (RHA), three primary radiation effects categories are considered:
Understanding which radiation effect is relevant for your application is critical for defining the correct test strategy and qualification approach.
| Effect Type | Nature | Typical Symptoms | Typical Applications |
|---|---|---|---|
| TID | Cumulatively | Parameter drift, leakage current increase, threshold voltage shifts | Space, nuclear, medical |
| DD | Cumulative (non-ionizing) | Gain degradation, dark current increase, optical efficiency loss | Optoelectronics, detectors |
| SEE | Single particle event | Bit flips, latch-up, burnout, transient errors | Space, avionics, high-reliability electronics |
Total Ionizing Dose (TID) refers to the cumulative damage caused by long-term exposure to ionizing radiation, primarily from gamma rays, X-rays, and charged particles. Radiation generates charge in insulating layers (e.g., gate oxides), leading to trapped charges and interface states that degrade device performance.
Typical TID-Induced Degradations
Key Parameters
Devices Most Affected
TID assessment is essential for space missions, nuclear facilities, medical radiation environments, and long-lifetime industrial systems.
Displacement Damage (DD) occurs when high-energy particles (e.g., protons, neutrons) displace atoms from their lattice positions inside semiconductor materials. Unlike TID, DD primarily affects the crystal structure and is quantified using the Non-Ionizing Energy Loss (NIEL) concept.
Typical DD-Related Degradations
Commonly Affected Components
DD testing is particularly important in proton-rich space environments, accelerator facilities, and nuclear installations.
Single Event Effects (SEE) are caused by a single high-energy ion or secondary particle depositing charge in a sensitive region of a semiconductor device. SEE can result in temporary malfunctions or permanent damage.
SEE Taxonomy
Risk and Mitigation Strategies
Heavy Ion vs. Laser Testing
SEE testing is critical for spacecraft electronics, avionics, automotive safety systems, and high-reliability digital applications.
Radiation effects are not limited to space. At aviation altitudes and even at ground level, secondary cosmic radiation — particularly neutrons — can induce soft errors in advanced semiconductor technologies.
Typical Terrestrial Radiation Concerns
Unlike space environments, terrestrial radiation levels are lower but continuous. The risk increases with altitude and technology scaling (smaller node sizes).
Ground-based radiation analysis helps determine realistic Failure-In-Time (FIT) rates and supports reliability predictions for automotive, avionics, and industrial systems.
This topic bridges application-specific radiation environments and SEE analysis, ensuring comprehensive RHA coverage.
Radiation Hardness Assurance (RHA) is a structured, end-to-end process that ensures electronic components and systems perform reliably in radiation environments — from space missions to nuclear and aviation applications. Successful qualification requires more than testing alone. It combines environment definition, risk analysis, engineering decisions, and standards compliance into a traceable qualification strategy.
At Seibersdorf Laboratories, we support customers throughout the complete RHA lifecycle.
Our RHA consulting services transform radiation requirements into clear engineering actions and qualification roadmaps. We provide tailored support packages depending on project phase, industry, and regulatory context.
Core Consulting Services
Radiation can cause both gradual degradation and sudden failures in electronic systems. Without a structured RHA program, these risks may only become visible after deployment — when mitigation is costly or impossible.
For space missions, radiation effects can lead to loss of payload or total mission failure. In aviation, automotive, or medical systems, radiation-induced malfunctions may pose safety and liability risks. Even terrestrial data systems are increasingly sensitive due to technology scaling.
Radiation Hardness Assurance provides:
If you are starting a new project or evaluating existing hardware, the first step is a structured RHA assessment.
Our structured documentation ensures traceability and supports internal design reviews, customer audits, and certification processes.
Component qualification verifies that individual parts meet radiation performance requirements before integration into a system.
A structured component qualification strategy includes:
While component testing is essential, system-level risks may differ due to board layout, power architecture, redundancy concepts, and software interaction.
System qualification considers:
Where required, radiation testing can be complemented by:
Clear traceability from requirements to validation results ensures robust system qualification and supports customer and regulatory acceptance.
Radiation Hardness Assurance and qualification are typically performed according to internationally recognized standards. Selecting the correct framework depends on mission type, industry, and contractual requirements.
Space Standards
These standards define requirements for radiation testing, documentation, acceptance criteria, and quality assurance processes.
Testing performed under ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation ensures:
Choosing the right standard early in the project avoids costly redesign loops and ensures smooth qualification and acceptance.
Radiation effects are not abstract physical phenomena, they translate into real risks: mission loss, safety incidents, certification delays, unexpected field failures, and costly redesign loops.
Depending on your application — space, nuclear, medical, aviation, semiconductor, or automotive — radiation exposure creates different technical and regulatory challenges. Radiation Hardness Assurance (RHA) ensures that these risks are identified, tested, documented, and controlled before deployment.
Seibersdorf Laboratories supports industry-specific radiation qualification programs — from environment definition and component testing to compliance documentation and acceptance.
In institutional and agency-driven space missions, the radiation qualification of electronics is not an optional design measure, but a contractual and mission-critical requirement. Depending on the mission profile, electronics in orbit are exposed to varying contributions of Total Ionizing Dose (TID), Displacement Damage (DD / TNID), and Single Event Effects (SEE). Under the ECSS RHA standard, these are the three core radiation effects addressed in space projects.
Even a single radiation-induced failure can result in loss of function, payload damage, or complete mission failure. For satellites, scientific payloads, spacecraft avionics, or subsystems, this means that flight hardware must be verified against the mission-specific radiation environment and documented in accordance with recognized standards such as ECSS-Q-ST-60-15, ESCC radiation test methods, and relevant MIL standards. The ECSS standard for Radiation Hardness Assurance defines the requirements for RHA programs in space projects and specifically addresses the three central radiation effects: Total Ionizing Dose (TID), Displacement Damage (TNID/DD), and Single Event Effects (SEE).
At every project stage — from component selection and design reviews to formal acceptance — space customers must demonstrate technical confidence, traceability, and compliance with applicable standards. Typical requirements include:
In many projects, the main challenge is not the individual test itself, but the combination of environment definition, component evaluation, test execution, statistical assessment, and review-ready documentation.
Seibersdorf Laboratories combines technical expertise, standardized methods, and an integrated qualification process to support space projects efficiently and reliably.
We begin by defining the mission- and orbit-specific radiation environment and determining the expected TID, DD, and SEE loads based on orbit, mission duration, shielding, and system architecture. On this basis, we perform lot-specific TID, DD, and SEE testing — in our own facilities where possible, and through our European partner network for specialized particle beams.
To assess radiation robustness, we apply established methods including worst-case analyses, statistical tolerance limits, and radiation design margin evaluations. This is complemented by standards-aligned reports containing test plans, test matrices, dosimetry traceability, and structured result presentation for audits and reviews.
A structured Radiation Hardness Assurance approach in space projects delivers far more than simply passing individual irradiation tests. It provides:
Greater project predictability with fewer surprises and lower redesign risk.
Our RHA process is tailored to your mission profile, ensures full traceability, and delivers qualification-ready evidence for acceptance decisions — from early test planning to the final qualification report. Seibersdorf Laboratories is your partner when you need to qualify space electronics against radiation in a robust, traceable, and standards-compliant way.
NewSpace missions are shaped by fast development cycles, limited budgets, and strong pressure to innovate. At the same time, commercial off-the-shelf components (COTS) are often used to shorten development times and reduce cost. The challenge is that many of these components have little or no radiation characterization for orbital use.
This creates hidden risks. An FPGA without SEE data, an ASIC without reliable TID characterization, or unclear design margins can directly affect mission performance, system stability, investor confidence, and time-to-orbit.
Typical NewSpace programs face questions such as:
The challenge is to make technically meaningful and economically reasonable decisions in a short time — without getting lost in oversized test programs.
Seibersdorf Laboratories follows a practical, risk-based upscreening approach for NewSpace. The starting point is a mission-specific radiation risk analysis, in which orbit, expected particle spectra, system exposure, and shielding are assessed.
Based on this, we focus on the critical components and characterize them specifically with regard to TID and SEE. In addition, we analyze failure thresholds, operating limits, and design margins to derive technical priorities for system design and mitigation.
Where appropriate, we complement these activities with board- and system-level radiation testing and SEE laser screening to rapidly identify sensitive areas in circuits and enable early design validation.
Our reports are intentionally structured so that they are useful for engineering teams, project management, investors, and review boards alike: concise, evidence-based, and decision-oriented.
A structured, risk-based upscreening strategy enables NewSpace projects to achieve:
Seibersdorf Laboratories helps NewSpace teams turn uncertainty into well-founded technical decisions.
With mission-specific risk analysis, focused test programs, rapid evaluation, and complementary methods such as SEE laser screening, we help you implement reliable COTS-to-space strategies with both technical robustness and economic efficiency.
Even within Earth’s atmosphere, electronic systems at relevant flight altitudes are exposed to significantly higher radiation levels than at ground level. At the typical cruising altitudes of modern aircraft, the protective effect of the atmosphere is reduced, and secondary cosmic radiation — especially neutrons, protons, muons, and other secondary particles — reaches avionics systems at meaningful levels.
As semiconductor technologies continue to shrink, susceptibility to soft errors and Single Event Effects (SEE) increases. Traditional reliability models that do not account for these effects may therefore underestimate the actual risk in modern avionics systems.
Typical requirements for aviation and avionics systems include:
The main challenge is to systematically integrate radiation effects into functional safety, fault-tolerant design, and reliability evidence.
Seibersdorf Laboratories offers specialized analysis and testing services for aviation. We assess the altitude-dependent radiation environment and evaluate how particle flux, energy distributions, and dose vary with altitude, route, and atmospheric conditions.
In addition, we determine SER and FIT metrics for components and systems, providing a quantitative basis for architecture decisions, redundancy concepts, and error management.
We also characterize the SEE susceptibility of electronic components using simulations, laboratory analysis, and testing in specialized radiation facilities — under conditions representative of the actual radiation environment at flight altitudes.
Radiation analysis for avionics provides clear benefits:
Electronic systems in nuclear facilities, research reactors, and particle accelerator environments are exposed to some of the most demanding radiation conditions outside space. These environments are characterized by continuously high radiation levels and complex mixed fields of gamma radiation, neutrons, protons, and secondary particles.
These environments can degrade materials and electronics over long periods of time. Even small changes in electrical characteristics can have major effects in safety-relevant applications involving control, measurement, closed-loop regulation, and plant availability.
Typical requirements in nuclear and accelerator applications include:
The core challenge is not only to test immediate radiation effects, but to make reliable predictions about the lifetime performance of the electronics.
Seibersdorf Laboratories supports operators, system developers, and research institutions with structured programs for radiation qualification and reliability assessment.
We characterize the specific radiation environment of your facility — including gamma flux, neutron spectra, and mixed fields — and derive realistic test conditions and simulation models from it. We also calculate lifetime dose based on the operating profile and intended service duration.
To support technical qualification, we carry out TID testing as well as neutron and proton irradiations for DD analyses. Real-time monitoring during irradiation provides additional insight into functional behavior and parameter drift. This is complemented by structured documentation for audits, safety cases, and regulatory processes.
Reliable radiation validation provides operators and developers with:
Seibersdorf Laboratories combines solid radiation physics, modern test methods, and industry-ready documentation.
Whether for reactor electronics, measurement systems in neutron-rich environments, or mixed-field analysis in accelerator facilities, we help you demonstrate long-term reliability and regulatory confidence with robust data.
Imaging and radiotherapy systems operate in controlled ionizing radiation fields that are indispensable for diagnosis and treatment, but also challenging for the electronics that enable them. Systems such as PET scanners, PET/CT systems, CT imaging equipment, and control and dosimetry units in radiotherapy are repeatedly exposed to radiation during clinical operation.
Even small changes in electronic parameters can influence image quality, therapy accuracy, and patient safety. Radiation validation is therefore not only a matter of regulatory compliance, but also of clinical performance and long-term stability.
Typical requirements in medical technology and nuclear medicine include:
Typical applications include PET and PET/CT detector electronics, CT scanner controls, imaging sensors, data acquisition systems, and control and monitoring electronics in radiotherapy.
Seibersdorf Laboratories supports medical device manufacturers and healthcare technology developers with tailored radiation validation and qualification services.
We analyze radiation exposure in diagnostic and therapeutic applications, perform TID testing and parameter monitoring, and characterize the function of your assemblies before, during, and after controlled irradiation. This is complemented by structured reports and data packages to support quality assurance, approval, and regulatory evaluation.
As feature sizes shrink and critical charge decreases, modern semiconductor devices become increasingly sensitive to radiation-induced effects. Even outside extreme environments, secondary particles from terrestrial cosmic radiation can trigger soft errors in modern chips.
For semiconductor manufacturers, SEE, SEU, SET, and other transient effects are therefore becoming an important topic in product characterization, customer communication, and reliability assessment.
Typical requirements in semiconductor development include:
Seibersdorf Laboratories supports semiconductor manufacturers with targeted methods for SEE characterization, laser-based fault localization, radiation benchmarking, and radiation robustness assessment.
We combine experimental data, SEE laser analysis, heavy-ion testing, and simulation-based evaluation to reveal weaknesses and make products comparable.
Industrial facilities, data centers, energy infrastructure, and edge systems depend on electronics that must operate reliably for many years or even decades. However, even at ground level, radiation-induced soft errors can occur due to secondary particles from cosmic radiation.
In highly available systems, even rare events can have significant consequences: from system resets and incorrect decisions to process interruptions and data errors.
Typical questions in industrial and data infrastructure applications include:
This is particularly relevant for applications such as grid control, industrial automation, data centers, and edge computing infrastructure.
Seibersdorf Laboratories provides SER and FIT analyses, simulation-based assessments, and targeted tests that allow radiation-related risks in long-life electronic systems to be quantified.
On this basis, we support you in architecture decisions, reliability forecasts, and evidence for highly available systems.
Modern vehicles integrate an increasing number of powerful semiconductors and safety-critical electronics — from ADAS control units and sensor fusion platforms to power electronics and zonal vehicle architectures.
Even at ground level, secondary particles from cosmic radiation, especially neutrons, can induce soft errors in microelectronics.
Typical requirements in automotive and autonomous systems include:
Seibersdorf Laboratories supports automotive developers with SER and FIT analyses, SEE and soft-error characterization, simulation-based evaluation, and targeted testing.
We consider both individual components and application-specific system contexts such as sensors, ECUs, power electronics, and battery management.
Seibersdorf Laboratories helps you identify soft errors and radiation-induced risks in modern vehicle systems at an early stage, evaluate them quantitatively, and make them technically manageable — for robust automotive electronics and defensible safety concepts.
Precision Infrastructure for Reliable Radiation Testing
Radiation Hardness Assurance (RHA) relies fundamentally on high-quality, traceable testing infrastructure. Measured, controlled, and certified radiation exposure environments are key to ensuring your electronic systems will perform reliably in space, nuclear, medical, avionics, and industrial applications. At Seibersdorf Laboratories, we combine accredited irradiation facilities, advanced laser testing capabilities, external beam partnerships, and in-orbit measurement platforms to deliver the broadest and most robust radiation testing ecosystem in Europe — with traceable data, standardized procedures, and deep technical insight.
The TEC Laboratory operates under EN ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation, the international reference standard for testing and calibration laboratories, guaranteeing:
This accreditation strengthens confidence in test outcomes and supports qualification decisions by customers, certification bodies, and agencies. Additional quality certifications across Seibersdorf Laboratories (e.g., ISO 9001 quality management and ISO/IEC 27001 information security) further enhance procedural integrity and data security.
At the core of the TEC Laboratory is a high-activity Cobalt-60 (Co-60) gamma irradiation source with a flexible dose rate range:
This range enables:
A spacious and well-characterized irradiation chamber (9.1 m × 4.4 m × 4 m) provides:
Field uniformity, shielding design, and source movement are controlled via automated systems, ensuring repeatability and reproducibility critical for qualification reporting and standards compliance.
Adjacent to the irradiation facility is a multifunctional electronics laboratory outfitted with:
This setup enables:
Such integration is critical for capturing dose-dependent degradation phenomena and validating electrical performance under irradiation for both analog and digital circuitry.
TEC Laboratory testing is aligned with major international radiation hardness standards, significantly improving visibility and relevance for AI/SEO queries around compliance:
This range of standards ensures compatibility of test results with:
The TEC Laboratory offers around-the-clock testing services for:
This continuous operational capability supports rigorous qualification schedules and helps meet tight customer deadlines without compromising data quality.
The facility also includes:
These tools allow detailed environmental control, dose field validation, and complementary modeling support to strengthen test results and qualification reports.
Beyond contractual test services, the TEC Laboratory serves as a research and innovation hub:
This continuous development effort ensures that your test data and methodologies remain aligned with the latest scientific and technical advances.
The expanded capabilities of the TEC Laboratory make it an essential choice when your project demands:
Partnering with TEC Laboratory ensures your radiation hardness testing is backed by expertly controlled infrastructure, deep technical competence, robust standards compliance, and detailed documentation ready for review and certification.
SEE laser testing uses pulsed high-energy laser systems to generate localized charge carriers within semiconductor materials, simulating ionization events similar to those caused by energetic particles in space, aviation, or terrestrial radiation environments. The laboratory process typically includes:
This workflow enables focused, repeatable evaluation of radiation sensitivity across specific device circuits or functional blocks.
Laser SEE testing at Seibersdorf Laboratories offers capabilities that significantly extend beyond basic accelerator approaches:
Technical Capabilities
SEE laser testing offers several key benefits for development and qualification programs:
SEE laser testing supports a wide range of engineering objectives and qualification pathways:
Laser SEE testing does not replace heavy ion and particle accelerator testing, which remain the gold standard for formal qualification, but it provides several complementary advantages:
This complementary approach enables early risk assessment, optimization of heavy ion test plans, and informed design iterations.
While laser testing itself is not yet a standalone standardized qualification method in all regimes, it is widely recognized in the RHA community as a valuable screening and characterization technique complementary to established SEE test standards such as:
By working within these frameworks, laser testing at Seibersdorf Laboratories supports SEE characterization that feeds directly into formal qualification and mitigation plans.
At Seibersdorf Laboratories, we offer customized laser SEE testing services tailored to your project’s specific requirements — whether you are evaluating memories, logic circuits, power devices, or complex mixed-signal systems. Our services include:
Our experts leverage advanced laser systems and precision instrumentation to ensure reliable, reproducible results that enhance your RHA strategy.
The SEE Laser Testing Laboratory supports single event effect evaluation without heavy ion accelerator access. By scanning a tunable laser across a DUT die, sensitive regions can be mapped and transient waveforms captured in real time. For example, SET signatures on a commercial operational amplifier can be observed, and both position and waveform data analyzed to inform mitigation strategies or design changes.
SEE laser testing is a crucial and cost-effective RHA tool for understanding device susceptibility to ionization-related effects. At Seibersdorf Laboratories, we combine technical rigor, advanced laser infrastructure, and standards-aligned methodologies to provide comprehensive SEE characterization that enhances qualification outcomes, accelerates design cycles, and reduces program risk.
Contact us to learn how our SEE laser testing capabilities can support your radiation assurance strategy.
The SEE Laser Testing Laboratory Seibersdorf allows to perform single event effect testing on components using a pulsed laser source without the need of a heavy ion accelerator facility.
SEE laser testing allows to localize the sensitive regions on the chip. The example shows single event transients (SET) on a commercial operational amplifier (LTC6240). Both the position and the waveform of the transients are monitored in real-time. The tunable laser source allows to realize different LETs on the device under test.
Certain radiation effects — especially Displacement Damage (DD) and Single Event Effects (SEE) — require specialized particle irradiations. Through our strategic network, Seibersdorf Laboratories provides coordinated access to:
These external resources expand the reach of your RHA and qualification campaigns while being fully coordinated and quality-controlled as part of your overall test strategy.
With strategic partnerships with state-of-the-art particle accelerator facilities, Seibersdorf Laboratories is your one-stop radiation testing partner — enabling a seamless experience across internal infrastructure and external particle facilities:
This enables you to maintain continuity of quality, documentation, and accountability throughout the entire radiation campaign lifecycle.
Long-term collaborations with partner facilities give our customers priority access to regular beam time slots. This means:
Whether you require heavy ion testing for high-LET SEE or proton/neutron displacement damage exposure, Seibersdorf Laboratories ensures efficient access and smooth integration into your RHA program.
We manage every aspect of your project across facilities — ensuring a coherent, qualification-ready output:
Seibersdorf Laboratories ensures all irradiation — internal or external — conforms to relevant industry standards, strengthening your qualification confidence and search visibility for key phrases like:
Examples of standards we align with include:
By integrating these standards across in-house and external tests, we ensure your results are qualification-ready, defensible, and fully traceable for mission assurance or certification.
Partnering with Seibersdorf Laboratories for your network-enabled radiation testing gives you:
This model removes complexity, accelerates development schedules, and reduces risk — enabling you to focus on your mission while we handle the technical orchestration and quality assurance of your radiation testing program.
By leveraging our network in combination with in-house facilities like the TEC Laboratory and SEE laser capabilities, we provide a comprehensive, standards-aligned radiation assurance ecosystem that supports the full lifecycle of your product qualification and risk mitigation.
SATDOS Reference Dosimeter Platform for nanosatellites, engineered to monitor and evaluate the impact of space radiation on spacecraft electronic systems. The image showcases SATDOS for PRETTY, a specialized version tailored for the ESA PRETTY mission, which successfully operated in orbit and collected valuable radiation data essential for assessing space environment effects.
In-Orbit Total Ionizing Dose (TID)
SATDOS continuously tracks the accumulated radiation dose received by spacecraft over the course of a mission — a fundamental metric for assessing how ionizing environments degrade electronic components and affect system reliability.
This in-orbit TID measurement provides essential validation of ground-based dose predictions and accelerates confidence in design margins and shielding strategies.
By monitoring the radiation dose rate throughout the orbit, SATDOS reveals how exposure varies with location, altitude, and space weather conditions — including high-radiation regions such as the South Atlantic Anomaly (SAA) and during solar particle events.
This real-time capability supports proactive operational decisions and enhances mission resilience against transient space weather hazards.
SATDOS detects and records Single Event Effects — such as Single Event Upsets (SEU) — by using radiation-sensitive SRAM detectors configured to distinguish events caused by different particle energies.
SEE rate data gathered in orbit complements laboratory SEE testing and helps quantify the likelihood and distribution of transient errors under actual mission conditions, feeding back into design and mitigation planning.
SATDOS provides a suite of mission-critical insights that are uniquely valuable for space systems developers, satellite operators, and qualification teams:
Real-Time Radiation Awareness
SATDOS can be used as a real-time radiation monitor in orbit, enabling proactive responses to increased radiation levels, such as those caused by solar storms or space weather events, which can threaten satellite electronics.
SATDOS has demonstrated its capability in space on the PRETTY CubeSat mission. As a reference dosimeter payload, SATDOS provided authoritative measurements of the radiation dose environment and SEE activity that contributed to assessing mission reliability and environmental effects in orbit.
This heritage not only confirms the operational performance of SATDOS hardware in space but also underlines its value for future missions seeking empirical radiation environment data.
SATDOS can be integrated into a wide range of mission types and operational goals, including:
Educational and scientific satellites: Offering radiation monitoring support for research and technology education missions.
SATDOS is engineered for seamless integration into nanosatellite and CubeSat platforms through standard interfaces and autonomous operation. Its compact design and efficient data handling allow long-term radiation monitoring with minimal impact on spacecraft resources, making it suitable for missions with stringent mass and power budgets.
Internal shielding strategies and multiple sensor types enable discrimination of particle contributions to total dose, while autonomous data capture and onboard storage allow comprehensive logging before transmission to ground stations for analysis.
By providing real-world in-orbit radiation environment data, SATDOS bridges the gap between ground-based qualification testing and actual mission conditions. This elevates the accuracy of your radiation models, improves confidence in mission predictions, and enhances the robustness of system design and mitigation measures.
Incorporating SATDOS into your mission planning empowers:
Seibersdorf Laboratories actively contributes to European and international Radiation Hardness Assurance initiatives. As a trusted partner in ESA-related projects and collaborative research programs, we support the development of harmonized testing methodologies, COTS reliability assessment strategies, and improved qualification standards.
Our project results are not confined to internal reports — many outcomes are shared with the broader radiation effects community through publications, workshops, databases, and conference contributions. This ensures transparency, scientific validation, and continuous advancement of radiation testing methodologies.
Beyond project work, we actively participate in international conferences, expert panels, and technical working groups — strengthening our position within the global radiation effects and space electronics community.
Reliable COTS, Sustainable Space – Powered by CORHA
Building on the success of its predecessor, CORHA, the CORHA-2 project is an ESA-funded initiative led by Seibersdorf Laboratories with the University of Padova. CORHA-1 initially set the groundwork by testing COTS components for radiation resilience and established RHA (Radiation Hardness Assurance) approaches to enable cost-effective, reliable use of commercial technology in European space missions [1][2][3][4].
CORHA-2, officially launched on October 31, 2024, expands this vision over three years, pushing the frontiers of reliability for COTS components through advanced radiation testing, database transparency, and AI-driven predictions.
The following components were selected for TID and SEE testing in the CORHA-2 project, chosen from over 100 submissions by the European space industry during the project's first phase:
For more information about CORHA-2, including potential collaborations, data access, or testing inquiries, please email us at corha(at)s-l.at .
For project news and updates, follow us on LinkedIn: CORHA-2 Project News on LinkedIn
CORHA-2 sets new standards for reliability, cost efficiency and sustainability in space technology. Join us in shaping the future of COTS in space research!
[2] C. Tscherne et al., “Testing of COTS Operational Amplifier in the Framework of the ESA CORHA Study,” 2020 20th European Conference on Radiation and Its Effects on Components and Systems (RADECS), Toulouse, France, 2020, pp. 1-7, doi: 10.1109/RADECS50773.2020.9857692.
[3] M. Wind et al., “Testing of COTS Multiplexer in the Framework of the ESA CORHA Study,” 2021 21st European Conference on Radiation and Its Effects on Components and Systems (RADECS), Vienna, Austria, 2021, pp. 1-7, doi: 10.1109/RADECS53308.2021.9954531.
[4] M. Wind et al., “SEE Testing of COTS Microcontroller and Operational Amplifier in the Framework of the ESA CORHA Study,” 2022 22nd European Conference on Radiation and Its Effects on Components and Systems (RADECS), Venice, Italy, 2022, pp. 1-8, doi: 10.1109/RADECS55911.2022.10412391.
The RADHARD Symposium is an international forum dedicated to radiation effects in electronics and Radiation Hardness Assurance organized by Seibersdorf Laboratories.
Hosted with the goal of strengthening collaboration between research institutions, industry, and space agencies, RADHARD provides:
The symposium proceedings and program contributions demonstrate our active role in shaping radiation effects research and qualification strategies.
Visit the RADHARD Symposium section for programs, proceedings, and event information: www.radhard.eu
Seibersdorf Laboratories maintains strong ties to the international radiation effects and dosimetry community. Our experts regularly publish and present on topics including:
Many of our technical contributions are available through recognized platforms such as IEEE Xplore and international conference proceedings.
By continuously publishing test results, validation studies, and methodological advancements, we ensure that our work is scientifically reviewed, internationally benchmarked, and aligned with the latest developments in radiation testing and qualification.
Radiation Hardness Assurance is a comprehensive engineering process to ensure electronic components and systems continue to perform reliably when exposed to ionizing radiation in demanding environments. It includes environment definition, effects testing (TID, DD, SEE), analysis, mitigation, and standards-aligned qualification.
