A Precision Voltage Regulator for Wide Analog to Digital Converters

Full Circle REsearch, Inc. (FCR) proposes a Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) program to develop an IC compatible, rad-hard precision voltage reference (PVR) with the stability under temperature and radiation required by military and commercial space electronic systems. Stable reference voltages are required for a variety of electronic systems for use in space such as high resolution A/D converters, pulse width modulators, etc. Previous approaches have been unable to provide the necessary accuracy with the radiation hardness required by space systems. As a result, there presently is no PVR capable of meeting the even more demanding requirements of future space systems for radiation hardened reference elements. To rneet these requirements, a program is proposed to develop a rad-hard PVR having an End-Of-Life absolute accuracy of better than 15 ppm after severe space radiation exposure is proposed. Both military and commercial users require 14-16 bit rad-hard A/D converters for space applications. Such devices require precision voltage references capable of supplying voltages stable to that level of precision, or they will not perform as designed. This program would develop such a device, filling a critical need for advanced space sensor systems.