ABSTRACT
There are currently two recent but rapidly growing thrusts within the space electronics community:
(1) the use of commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) parts whenever possible for space-borne systems as a
cost-saving measure; and (2) the use of system-on-a-chip integration to lower chip counts and system
costs, as well as simplify packaging and lower total system launch weight. The ‘‘holy-grail’’ in the realm
of space electronics can thus be viewed as a conventional terrestrial IC technology with a system-on-a-
chip capability, which is also radiation-hard as fabricated, without requiring any additional process
modifications or layout changes. It is within this context that we discuss SiGe HBT BiCMOS technology
as potentially such a ‘‘radiation-hard-as-fabricated’’ IC technology with possibly far-ranging implica-
tions for the space community.
