VORAGO Technologies awarded pair of NASA grants for development of radiation-hardened solutions

AUSTIN, Texas -- The National Aeronautics and Space Administration has awarded two Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I grants to VORAGO Technologies for the development of space-bound components.

The Texas-based company said it will use the NASA grants to create a radiation-hardened I/O expansion chip for next-generation spaceflight processor devices, including the High-Performance Spaceflight Computing (HPSC) Chiplet.

VORAGO will also work to harden an existing flash memory technology being manufactured by a CMOS wafer fabricator.

The work will incorporate VORAGO's patented "HARDSIL" technology, which the company said protects CMOS devices against the effects of extreme temperatures and radiation. A number of HARDSIL-treated CMOS components were tested in February 2017 aboard a SpaceX Falcon resupply of the International Space Station.

"We are delighted that NASA has selected VORAGO Technologies to undertake these important projects," said Bernd Leinhard, CEO. "HARDSIL technology is a perfect solution to quickly and cost-effectively create radiation-hardened semiconductor devices for use in challenging space environments."

The company is also currently designing a radiation-hardened, miniaturized system-in-package under a separate SBIR Phase II grant awarded by NASA in April.