Characterization of an IR-UWB Transceiver Under Radiation Conditions

Abstract

In this paper, the characterization of an impulse radio ultra-wideband (IR-UWB) radio frequency transceiver in a radiation environment is presented. IR-UWB is a well-known terrestrial technology for wireless communication and localization with interesting features also for space applications. The currently available hardware is Commercial-of-the-Shelf and it is essential to analyze the performance under radiation conditions to utilize the transceiver in reliable space applications, specifically intra-spacecraft communication. The device under test is exposed to γ-rays to evaluate total ionizing dose effects. Another test campaign is performed to analyze the single event effects induced by protons. The test procedure and results are presented and show that the transceiver withstands typical low earth orbit radiation conditions without significant degradation or malfunction.