RADECS Workshop 2018 and the 2nd International Conference on Radiation Effects of Electronic Devices Successfully Held in Beijing

China Academy of Aerospace Electronic Technology

To establish a high-level academic exchange and cooperation platform, to boost the construction of a powerful aerospace nation, and to promote the professional innovation and development in the area of radiation effects on electronic devices,the RADECS (Radiation Effects on Components and Systems)Workshop 2018 and the 2nd International Conference on Radiation Effects of Electronic Devices (ICREED) was held. The event was hosted by the China Academy of Aerospace Electronic Technology (CAAET), organized by Beijing Microelectronics Technology Institute (BMTI) and Harbin Institute of Technology (HIT), was held on May 16-18, 2018 in Beijing. This interchange activity was approved by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, P. R. China, and guided by the Science and Technology Committee, along with China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC).

RADECS attached great importance to this conference that was held in China for the first time and appointed a professional delegation of 6 experts to attend the conference. The Vice President of CASC WANG Haibo, Deputy Director of CASC Science and Technology Committee JIANG Fan, Vice Minister of CASC International Business Group GUO Jianping,Vice President of CAAET WANG YanLin, Former Director of CAAET Science and Technology Committee XIE Tianhuai,Deputy Director of CAAET Science and Technology Committee ZHAO Yuanfu, Deputy General Manager of Beijing Mxtronics technology Co., Ltd. WANG Yong, Vice President of HIT GUO Bin presented themselves to the conference. Meanwhile,40 experts from 15 countries and more than 60 domestic research institutions and universities, such as Chinese Academy of Science, China Electronic Technology Group Corporation,attended the conference which had 260 attendees.

Vice President of CASC WANG Haibo is giving a speech at RADECS Workshop 2018

Renaud Mangeret, the representative of RADECS delegation

Mastering the law and mechanisms of radiation effects is a key criteria for evaluating and improving the reliability of space electronic systems. It is an important prerequisite for studying radiation hardening methodologies, modeling radiation effects,evaluating radiation hardness and developing radiation hardened components. RADECS, originally established in Europe in 1987,is one of the leading conferences in the field of radiation effects.With the continuous improvement in the field of radiation effects in China in recent years, radiation hardened electronic products have been exported to the international market and the market share has been increasing rapidly. This background contributed to the opportunity for CAAET to host the RADECS Workshop 2018. This is the first time that RADECS Workshop has been hosted outside of Europe and held in China.

Before the opening ceremony of the conference, WANG Haibo met with Renaud Mangeret, the representative of RADECS delegation. WANG Haibo expressed his appreciation to the RADECS committee for holding this year’s Workshop in Beijing, China. The two sides exchanged ideas on future cooperation. At the opening ceremony, WANG Haibo gave a keynote speech entitled “The Achievements and Development of CASC”, which focused on the great achievements of CASC in establishing its independence and self-reliance. He envisioned the prospect of CASC in the construction of a space power.Specifically he addressed the technological development and achievements with radiation hardened devices. After Mr. Wang’s speech, the theme video “Build the Space Dream”, specially produced for this conference by the CASC Science and Technology Committee, left deep impression on the delegates.

Vice President of CAAET WANG Yanlin and Vice President of HIT GUO Bin delivered orations at the conference, and warmly welcomed the experts and scholars from China and abroad.

The General Chairman of RADECS Workshop 2018 &ICREED Dr. ZHAO Yuanfu hosted the conference which comprised a technical program, visiting tour and industrial exhibit.

16 experts made reports during the report session. Dr.ZHAO Yuanfu presented a keynote talk entitled “Radiation hardening on nanoscale integrated circuits — the challenges and strategies”. He emphasized radiation effects such as the multibit upset, single event transient, and related radiation hardening methodologies of nanoscale integrated circuits. He also provided a brief on China’s radiation hardening design platforms and CPU, FPGA and other product families developed for the platforms. His presentation was so informative and original that the audience demonstrated their great interest in the topic.

Professor Kenneth Galloway from Vanderbilt University and 2 other experts from the U.S., introduced their studies on radiation effects related to reliability of SiC power devices, the radiation effects of new material devices (such as high K gate stacked FinFET, SiC/GaN and two-dimensional materials such as graphene), and radiation effect modeling with bipolar devices.These scientists are all well-known experts in the community and their presentations outlined some recent research achievements on radiation effects in the world.

Six European experts, including Dr. Renaud Mangeret from Airbus Defense and Aerospace, introduced the development of radiation hardness assurance and radiation hardened memory production in Europe, giving a positive impression on the radiation effect research work in Europe drawing much attention from the attendees.

RADECS Workshop 2018 participants are exchanging views

Professor LI Xingji from HIT, also the Co-chair of the conference, and other 4 domestic experts exchanged research updates on the synergetic effects between ionization and displacement damage in bipolar transistors, radiation effects in nonvolatile memory, neutron induced single event effects in bipolar devices, and related recent research achievements in the field of radiation effects. These presentations exhibited some of the great work and in-depth research abilities within the Chinese radiation effect community, leaving a very deep and positive impression to attendees especially to foreign scholars.

Oral reports were separated into four sessions, that namely,the mechanisms and modeling of radiation effects, radiation effects on new devices and circuits, radiation hardening methodologies, and radiation hardness assurance. Five invited reports and 38 oral reports were presented and discussed in groups.This small group communication gave more opportunities to exchange ideas between attendees with specific interests.

In addition, 55 academic papers were displayed in form of posters. About 150 attendees, including paper authors and other participants, took part in this session in the evening. Attendees were split up into small groups with each poster. Young scholars enjoyed very much the opportunity to communicate with experts, and many people didn’t leave until the session closed at 10:00 p.m.

After the technical program, the attendees visited the Exhibition Hall of China Academy of Space Technology (CAST),CAAET, and China Institute of Atomic Energy. Aerospace technology, satellite applications, manned spaceflight, lunar exploration, BeiDou navigation and the Beijing HI-13 tandem accelerator were on display. The current status and the study on radiation effect applications and hardening within China could be fully appreciated through these initiatives. The tour also provided a chance for international scholars to understand China Aerospace more intuitively. In addition, this tour has enhanced the recognition of the great achievements of China aerospace for young scholars.

This conference won the high affirmation from the RADECS delegation and general acclaim from Chinese and foreign experts. The conference maintained the professional and technical standards of RADECS. The professional interactive speeches and poster display exchanges became the highlight of the conference. A thorough and orderly conference organization promoted effective discussion. The independent development path and achievements of China aerospace have been highly valued by foreign experts, many of whom regard that China has been conducting comprehensive and thorough study into radiation effects, hardening methodologies and hardness assurance, and is internationally advanced in the field of radiation hardening design techniques, and even more, has established a world-level industrial chain for radiation hardened IC production. They expressed their hope to further enhance cooperation with China.Professor Galloway from Vanderbilt University, a well-known U.S. scientist in the community, made comments on the conference and China as follows: “The conference demonstrates the vitality of the radiation effects community in China and has served to build a good bridge between the Chinese radiation effects community and its international counterpart. ZHAO Yuanfu and his group’s work on radiation effects and hardening is well recognized in the U.S., Europe, and Russia.”

The research on radiation effects and radiation hardening of components and systems has always been the pivotal point in the field of aerospace microelectronics, and the level of the research is also an important sign to evaluate the level of space technology within a country. With the recent and rapid advancement in aerospace microelectronics technology, China has basically achieved autonomous control on aerospace components such as CPU, FPGA, Memory, Power management, Bus interface and AD/DA convertor. The conference has further consolidated the construction of an international exchange platform for the study on radiation effects, and will further promote the innovation and development of the related technology.