Maxwell Technologies Inc. (San Diego, CA) announced that its BOOSTCAP ultracapacitors showed no significant effects from either gamma or proton irradiation in tests conducted by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and met or exceeded expectations in other environmental stress testing performed by the Johnson Space Center (JSC) earlier this year.
"Ultracapacitors already are recognized as a standard energy storage and power delivery component for commercial applications in consumer and industrial electronics and transportation systems," said Robert Tressler, Maxwell’s vice president of sales and marketing. "This performance in rigorous tests conducted by NASA and JSC, coupled with our technical expertise and customer relationships as a supplier of space-qualified microelectronics devices, give us an immediate opportunity to market ultracapacitors for space applications that require extremely high reliability and radiation tolerance."
Maxwell’s microelectronic products for the space market include memory modules, power modules and single board computers that incorporate proprietary shielding technology and other radiation mitigation techniques. The ultracapacitors are candidates for applications in low earth orbit and, with further tests in high total ionizing doses, may also be suitable for applications in interplanetary exploration.
