This section is devoted to covering trends in ruggedized test and security screening. Articles here focus on EMI/RFI, shock and vibration testing and mitigation, cooling, HALT/HASS and a host of other hardware and software test-related technologies. This is an Archive section that is currently published under 'System Development'.
Most Recent
Designing for EMI/RFI
Key Design Techniques Reduce EMI/RFI Effects in Military Applications
Zulki Khan, Nexlogic Technologies
December 2005
The effects of electromagnetic interference (EMI) and radio frequency interference (RFI) are particularly troublesome when designing printed circuit board (PCB) assemblies forRead More...
Past Articles
Designing for EMI/RFI
Designing EMI/EMC Compliance into Military Systems
Alan Storrow, Radstone Embedded Computing
December 2005
Electromagnetic interference compliance, or lack of it, can literally be a life or death matter when it comes to military embedded computing equipment. Ensuring that a military AirRead More...
Multi-Core Processors
Emerging Tiled Processor Trend Rivals SMP Approaches
Jeff Child
October 2005
There’s a time of transition afoot in the microprocessor world: the road maps of the leading processors show that all roads lead to architectures sporting multiple CPU cores on theRead More...
Multi-Core Processors
Cell Technology Enables New Defense Applications
Craig Lund, Mercury Computer Systems
October 2005
It’s rare for technology targeted so specifically for consumer demands to find itself serving the needs of military applications. But the Cell Broadband Engine (BE) processorRead More...
Multi-Core Processors
Multi-CPU System-on-Chip Advances Solve Obsolescence Woes
Steve Manuel and Gail A. Walters, CPU Technology
October 2005
Through its exploitation of COTS technology, the DoD has achieved tremendous increase in price performance, reduced development costs and has benefited greatly from broad availabilityRead More...
Simulation
Model-Based Approach Smooths Vibration Control System Development
Dan Raun, The MathWorks
September 2005
To maintain safety in hostile environments, military jet aircraft today must fly at higher altitudes and at longer ranges than in the past decades, creating vibration and stresses thatRead More...
Simulation
HALT and HASS Testing: Learning to Handle the Big Guns
Ralph Poplawsky, QualMark
September 2005
Since they were first introduced in the early 1980s, Highly Accelerated Life Testing (HALT) and Highly Accelerated Stress Screening (HASS) have been successfully adopted for a host ofRead More...
Designing for Radiation Tolerance
Rad-Hard Chips Fly High
Ann R. Thryft
August 2005
The Bush Administration’s mandate for a return to space exploration is producing a new demand for high-performance, space-ready electronics. NASA’s space programs aimed at MarsRead More...
Designing for Radiation Tolerance
The Effects of a Radiation Environment on Power Devices
Milt Boden, International Rectifier
August 2005
Selecting power semiconductor devices for use in systems that will be exposed to ionizing radiation, such as those used in military and space applications, is a difficult task becauseRead More...
Designing for Radiation Tolerance
Space Satellite Designs Need Flexible, Rad-Hard ICs
Ravi Pragasam, Actel
August 2005
Systems that are exposed to the harsh environments in space must be able to withstand those extreme conditions and operate correctly without any loss of functionality. Even smallRead More...
Cooling Update and Trends
Thermal Issues Pose Challenges for Deployed Systems
Trevor Landon, Jeremey Pionke, and Aaron Gaston, Technology Advancement Group
July 2005
In today’s harsh military environments, thermal design has become a critical development criterion for rugged tactical systems. Designers of deployed, rugged military embeddedRead More...
Cooling Update and Trends
New Cooling Schemes Call for Early Design Decisions
Colin Davies, Radstone Embedded Computing
July 2005
When it comes to cooling, the military embedded computing business stands at a crossroads. On the one hand, advances in semiconductor technology are resulting in a demand for moreRead More...
Cooling Update and Trends
Heat Pipe Architecture Offers Flexible Thermal Control
David Bugby, Swales Aerospace
July 2005
It has been 40 years since George Grover, a Los Alamos engineer working on space nuclear-power-system cooling, verified his idea of a surface tension-driven heat transport system orRead More...
Reliability and Latent Defects in ICs
Protecting Military Data in a Flash
Pat Wilkison, SimpleTech
June 2005
It’s a deep attack mission. Fast and low, soldiers in a Black Hawk helicopter are speeding through a hot and humid jungle in an effort to locate and rescue a group of journalists. AtRead More...
COTS Journal Interviews Chris Marzilli, Senior V.P. and Deputy G.M. General Dynamics C4 Systems
May 2005
COTS Journal: General Dynamics C4 Systems seems very open-minded about mixing off-the-shelf commercial technology with very leading-edge military products. You do an interesting mix ofRead More...
Shock and Vibration
Vibration Test Goals: Efficient, Effective and Valid
John Starr, CirVibe
April 2005
Commercial industry often uses Design of Experiments (DOE) for development of reliable electronics. DOE applies statistical analysis to develop a product in as few experiments (tests)Read More...
