An advanced 3D electronic packaging design for the CONTOUR remote imaging spectrograph digital processor unit

The data processing unit (DPU) of the CONTOUR remote imaging spectrograph (CRISP) is being developed by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory for the Comet Nucleus Tour (CONTOUR), a NASA Discovery mission to explore the composition of the comets Encke and Schwassmann-Wachmann 3. The DPU design employs an advanced electronic packaging approach with 3-D interconnect that provides flexibility to accommodate future expansion and modification by simply adding or replacing one of its modules. Miniaturization of space electronics involves considerations beyond the usual requirements for small size and low mass. A system approach must be developed and started with the top down deliberations on the design of an electronic architecture suitable for miniaturizing all physical aspects of the electronics design, and continued with considerations at the board, component and chips levels. One important task that has often been ignored, in an electronic package design, is the selection of the connectors and the interconnect architecture between the individual boards. This paper will describe the DPU packaging design, the selection process of the interconnect architecture, and the reliability evaluation of the press-fit connectors used in this design.