Radiation-Hardened Electronics Testing
Systems that must operate through radiation need their electronics characterized and hardened; a domestic neutron source supports that qualification.
Assurance for critical electronics
Avionics, satellites, sensors, and control systems for critical infrastructure must keep working in environments where radiation can corrupt data or damage parts. Radiation-hardened, or rad-hard, design combines process choices, circuit techniques, and system-level protection. None of it can be trusted without test data.
What testing establishes
- Soft-error rate under a representative spectrum
- Absence or bounding of destructive events (latch-up, burnout)
- Effectiveness of error-correcting codes and redundancy
- Margins against the intended operating environment
The domestic-source advantage
Test access is itself a security question. Depending on a small number of facilities, some overseas, creates schedule risk and supply-chain exposure for programs that need repeated, controlled access. A domestic 14 MeV source adds capacity for this qualification work and keeps it within national control.
Kronos offers this as a neutron service. The value delivered is qualification data and test access, consistent with a public, non-classified posture.
Certification needs repeatability
Certifying hardware is not a one-time event. Lots change, processes drift, and parts are re-sourced, so a program returns to the beam repeatedly over a product's life. That makes dependable, scheduled access as important as the test itself. A domestic source with predictable availability lets a program plan its qualification milestones with confidence, rather than queueing for scarce slots at facilities it does not control. Because supply-chain security and test-access security are related concerns, keeping this qualification capacity domestic reduces both schedule risk and the exposure that comes from depending on facilities outside national control.
This page describes a design and simulation study, not a built machine. The breeder (Hyperion) begins construction Q2 2027; first-of-a-kind first tritium is targeted near 2030. No hardware net-gain is claimed before then.