Aerospace and Defense
Analog & Mixed-Signal Integrated Solutions
Company Overview
Triad Micro Devices analog & mixed-signal integrated solutions platform technology offers A&D companies a disruptive edge in optimizing SWaP for enduring programs.
Triad Micro Devices (TMD) is at the forefront of fabless innovation, specializing in the delivery of precision analog and mixed-signal integrated solutions. Our mission at TMD is to streamline and enrich the product lifecycle—from visionary architecture and bespoke design, to advanced prototyping and meticulous characterization. We pride ourselves on our ability to transition concepts into tangible solutions with predictability and efficiency, ensuring a seamless journey to market for custom solutions tailored for our partners in aerospace and defense.
Strong Heritage in the
Aerospace & Defense Industry
TMD emerges from a distinguished lineage, born out of Triad Semiconductor’s extensive R&D legacy in the aerospace and defense sector. For over a decade, Triad has been a catalyst for innovation, collaborating with partners such as the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) and Air Force Research Labs (AFRL) to pioneer high-reliability mixed-signal integrated circuit technology. Today, TMD is delivering this disruptive capability to the A&D market, built upon the robust foundation laid by Triad. TMD is focused to serve exclusively the nuanced needs of the aerospace and defense market to propel these sectors into a future where innovation is accelerated, SWaP integration goals are achieved, and Total Cost of Ownership is optimized.
Advanced Analog & Mixed-Signal Integrated Solutions Technology
TMD patented ViArray platforms contain fine-grained design IP that is arranged in arrays and overlaid with a configurable routing fabric. All integrated solutions resources can be configured and interconnected by changing a single mask layer. This approach to solutions design obviates the need for the manual, expensive, and error prone full custom designs. Having the ability to completely change an analog and mixed-signal solution’s design by changing a single mask layer enables TMD to deliver significant time-to-market and time-to-launch advantages. Additionally, ViArrays can address unforeseen changes albeit bugs or feature requests rapidly and cost effectively.
Key Benefits
Achieve SWaP
Integration
Goals
Industry’s
Fastest Device
Development
No EOL Issues
25 Year Supply
Commitment
Optimized
Total Cost of
Ownership
Improved
Qualification
Time and Cost
Analog/Mixed-Signal Circuit IP
ViArrays are composed of several configurable primitive resources (transistors, resistors, capacitors, diodes, etc.). These resources are sized and grouped in the ViArray forming an analog/mixed-signal fabric for implementation of IP blocks (e.g., amplifiers, comparators, analog/digital filters, ADC’s, DAC’s, PLL’s, DC-DC converters, linear regulators). The table below lists some examples of circuit IP that has been developed on ViArrays.
Radiation-Hardened &
Tolerant Integrated Solutions
Integrated solutions in aerospace and defense applications are often exposed to the transient and long-term effects of radiation. These can include single event effects (SEEs) such as single-event upsets (SEUs), single-event transients (SETs), and single-event latch-up (SELs). Long-term effects result from exposure to ionizing energy or total ionizing dose (TID), causing changes like threshold voltage shifts and mobility degradation.
Rad-Hard by Process and
Rad-Hard by Design
To mitigate radiation effects, two primary approaches are generally used: Radiation Hardening by Process (RHBP) and Radiation Hardening by Design (RHBD). The former requires a specific semiconductor process like silicon-on-insulator (SOI). The latter, RHBD, applies a specific set of electrical and layout techniques to bulk CMOS, a more widely available technology. Both RHBP and RHBD can achieve strategic levels of radiation hardness.
Radiation-Hardened
ViArray Technology
TMD’s patented ViArray technology is applicable to both RHBP and RHBD. Regardless of the approach, TMD’s Rad-Hard ViArrays are loaded with a wide variety of analog and digital, highly configurable resources resulting in an optimal solution for radiation-hardened devices.
ViArrays can be completely configured with a single via-layer, while leaving underlying radiation-assured resources unchanged, eliminating the need for requalification.
TMD’s Qualification by Similarity approach allows for rapid and cost-effective design cycles, thereby providing a unique, cost-effective solution to the radiation effects assurance challenges faced by the aerospace and defense industry.
TMD Rad-Hard
ViArray™ Advantages
Relevant Radiation Tolerant and Hardened Mixed-Signal IP
ΔΣ, R2R, Segmented, Current Steering, Switched Cap, PWM
100MSPS
6 to 20bits
Up to 2A
mod/demod
Detailed Radiation Qualification Reports available upon request.
Triad Micro Devices Solutions for Devices
End-of-Life / Obsolescence Issues
One of the primary concerns for the defense sector is the mismatch between the product life-cycle of defense systems and commercially available integrated solutions. Defense systems typically have long lifecycles, often exceeding 20 or even 25 years. In contrast, the life cycle of commercially available integrated solutions is typically much shorter. This disparity means that components can become obsolete before the defense system reaches its end of life, leading to significant operational and maintenance issues.
Proven History and Commitment to Long-Term Integrated Solutions Supply
With TMD solutions, multiple discrete Commercial Off The Shelf (COTS) parts, each with their own EOL schedules, can be consolidated into a single device. This consolidation not only simplifies system design and enhances performance, but also ensures a longer, more predictable component supply life. TMD guarantees the availability of its solutions for up to 25 years, aligning with the lifespan of defense systems, thereby addressing the EOL issue head-on.
Securing the Semiconductor Supply Chain
TMD, with its USA-based operations, is perfectly positioned to offer this security. By choosing TMD’s ViArray integrated solutions, defense contractors not only receive a high performance, long-lifecycle component, but also benefit from a secure domestic supply chain. This assurance strengthens the defense industry’s ability to build and maintain systems without concern for international supply chain disruptions or foreign sourcing risks.
Performance Continuity of Supply and Supply Chain Security
TMD’s integrated solutions offer
a balance of high performance, extended lifecycle, and supply chain security that is uniquely suited to the needs of the aerospace and defense industry. By addressing the concerns around component EOL and supply chain security, TMD empowers defense contractors to focus on what they do best: developing cutting-edge, solutions for high-reliably applications.
Triad Micro Devices Solutions for
Emerging Chiplet Applications
As chiplet technology revolutionizes the design of complex System-on-Chip (SoC) architectures, new challenges inevitably emerge. Chiplet-based designs must grapple with issues such as level shifting, protocol translation, power management, sensor interfaces, test coverage, and unanticipated bugs or late feature requests. The ViArray devices from TMD offer powerful, cost-effective solutions to these challenges.
Level Shifting and
Protocol Translation
Analog Front End
Sensor Interfaces
While the Universal Chiplet Interconnect Express (UCIe) interface is gradually gaining acceptance for intra-chiplet communication, the current reality is a more loosely defined “Bunch of Wires” (BoW) standard. Chiplets must often translate communication protocols between dies and perform voltage level translations. TMD’s ViArray devices serve as an intermediary for these crucial functions, ensuring timely and cost-effective voltage and protocol translation.
TMD’s ViArrays offer a breakthrough for chiplet solutions. These configurable arrays can craft specialized Analog Front Ends (AFEs), catering to unique sensor needs, while ensuring a consistent digital interface. This ensures swift and seamless integration of diverse sensors into heterogeneous System-in-Package architectures.
Power Management
As chiplets combine to form a complete solution, managing power requirements becomes a complex task. Multiple voltage domains, varying current profiles, specific power up and down sequencing, and power and thermal monitoring all need to be coordinated. These requirements often emerge late in the system design process. TMD’s ViArray devices can be utilized as a Power Management IC (PMIC), providing a cost-effective and low-risk approach to chiplet system power management.
Test Coverage
The integration of chiplets also presents a challenge for test coverage. Individual chiplets can usually be directly tested when their pads are probed, but they may lack the ability for easy testing and verification within the chiplet system. TMD’s ViArray devices, with their easy configurability and mix of both analog and digital resources, can be used to create comprehensive mixed-signal scan chains. They can be combined with a chiplet to create a Built-In Self Test (BIST) feature, with the ViArray acting as an in-system test device.
Addressing the Unknowns
Chiplet systems are complex, heterogenous, and designed to address challenging real-world problems. The likelihood of encountering unknown issues during development is high, whether in the form of bugs or late feature requests. In these cases, it may be prohibitively expensive to respin a Deep Submicron (DSM) chiplet. However, ViArrays offer a timely and cost-effective means to address these challenges.
Complete Analog & Mixed-Signal
Integrated Solutions Partner
Experienced Team
- Analog and mixed-signal system integration experts
- Analog and digital, layout, packaging, test, production,
and product engineers
Advanced Integrated Solutions
Platform Technology
- Patented Platform Analog & Mixed-Signal Solutions
Technology offering disruptive advantages in time-tomarket,
development cost, and flexibility - Platform approach to integrated solutions design
where appropriate - Rich library of platforms, circuits, and building block IP
Advanced Integrated Solutions
Platform Technology
- Standards/certifications/classifications: ISO 9001,
MIL-STD-883, Export Control, JEDEC 47, MILPRF-
38535, QML - High-reliability, expanded temperature range: -55C
to 125C - Radiation tolerance and hardness: TID, SEL/SEU, Prompt Dose for high-rel applications
- Gov-Cloud AWS isolated development and
operations environment
Packaging Solutions
- 3-pin to 313-pin examples
- QFN, DFN, SOIC, SOT, TO
- Flip Chip on Lead
- BGA, LGA, WLCSP
- Plastic encapsulated
- Hermetic, high-reliability
- Modules with die, active devices & passives
Semiconductor Supply Chain
- Domestic and international wafer foundries
- Domestic and international packaging
- In-house, domestic and international product test development and testing
- Robust distribution options
Winston-Salem, NC 27103-6996
Telephone: +1 (336) 774-2150
General inquiries: info@triadmicrodevices.com
Sales inquiries: sales@triadmicrodevices.com