Evaluating the switching mode power supplies used in radiation hardness tests of integrated circuits

This paper describes the prototype of a test bench used to test and evaluate the performances of switching mode power supplies designed to feed complex integrated circuits for radiation hardness qualification tests. The main radiation effect on which this study will be focused is the single event latch-up effect induced by a single energetic particle in a CMOS structure that leads to high current draws by the tested integrated circuit from its power supply.