As spacecraft navigate the oceans of space, satellites encounter severe storms in a ‘similar’ way as Earth based ocean going vessels do. A documented phenomenon known as Deep Dielectric Discharge, associates high speed solar wind streams with the appearance of large numbers of highly energetic electrons in the magnetosphere. These high energy electrons are dangerous to the operation of the spacecraft as they bury themselves into dielectric materials deep within the satellite, (materials such as PCB materials, coaxial cables etc).
The buildup of charge occurs when the total amount of high velocity electrons exceed 1MeV (1 Million electron Volts) during the storm event. The charge continues to build until the dielectric strength of the material is exceeded. Once this happens an instantaneous electrical discharge occurs, which is similar to a miniature lightning strike. This is a hazardous event capable of damaging semiconductor and other sensitive devices.
Part of the solution is to incorporate design improvements to mitigate the effects of Deep Dielectric Discharge. Semelab are currently offering LCC1-4 (Leadless Chip Carrier Number 1, 4 pads), which are based on the ESA qualified ceramic chip carrier technology, but have an additional feature which electrically connects the metal lid of the discrete device, to an additional solder pad at the base of the package, so the lid can be electrically connected to a known potential, (usually ground), therefore conducting away the charge as it occurs.
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