Project SCALE RH: Commercial microelectronics radiation testing Program Engineering First Time Researcher (FTR) Fellowship Term Spring 2026 Status Closed Research Area Microelectronics, Radiation Hardening Description This project is restricted to SCALE Students. Please go to the SCALE FTR Page in the SCALE group on nanoHUB to read the full project description and requirements: https://nanohub.org/groups/scale/research/purdue/ftr. All questions about this project should go to the faculty and mentor listed on the project description. Abbreviated description: Commercial off-the-shelf electronics are appealing for satellite applications because of their high capabilities (e.g., processing speed or memory). While they are generally tested for reliability for terrestrial applications, most manufacturers don’t have time to test or qualify them for space applications. In this project, we’ll select a novel commercial device to test and develop a test procedure for testing it in a radiation environment. The methodology has been successfully applied to commercial Magnetoresistive Random Access Memory (MRAM) devices and Electronically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memories (EEPROMs) using high gamma and neutron sources including a Gammacell chamber, a neutron Howitzer, a subcritical graphite-uranium pile, and a research nuclear reactor. We will have the option to either extend that previous work or test a novel commercial device that has not previously been tested. Supervisor Stylianos Chatzidakis Mentor Peter A Bermel Type of work required In this project, we’ll select a novel commercial device to test, and develop a test procedure for testing. This includes preparation and set up of the device in the irradiation facility, remote communication with an Arduino or Raspberry-Pi and development of real-time monitoring scripts in Python. Websites https://engineering.purdue.edu/NE/people/ptProfile?resource_id=250281
https://web.ics.purdue.edu/~pbermel/
https://nanohub.org/groups/scale/research/purdue/ftr Qualifications 1. You must be a SCALE student to be considered for this project. SCALE Students: Please check that your IDP and other information (resume, Linked In, Career Goals, etc.) in the SCALE Web App is up to date. If you are not yet a SCALE student, you can concurrently apply to SCALE and to this FTR project. Read more about SCALE and access the SCALE application link here: https://www.scale4me.org/students. 2. Preferred majors: •NUCL, ECE, ME, MSE •All Engineering majors may apply. 3. Academic Years Eligible: Juniors and seniors with the desired experience will be preferred, but all undergraduates are eligible to apply. 4. Required Experience and Skills: Experience with programming in Python, C/C++, and/or MATLAB. 5. Desired Experience and Skills: •Enthusiasm for scientific programming. •Understanding of radiation transport and electromagnetism. •Courses helpful to have previously taken (or at least signed up for) oNUCL 200 (Introduction to Nuclear Engineering) or oNUCL 205 (Nuclear Engineering Undergraduate Laboratory I) oECE 20001 (Electrical Engineering Fundamentals I) and oECE 20007 (Electrical Engineering Fundamentals Lab) To Apply: In your FTR application, please discuss this specific project. State how you meet the project requirements and how this project relates to your academic and professional goals. You can view all SCALE FTR projects here: https://nanohub.org/groups/scale/research/purdue/ftr. Credit Hours 0 Weekly Hours 10 (estimated)