A study of plastic encapsulated microcircuits (PEMs) in JPL space hardware

The qualification and use of COTS parts including parts assembled with plastic packages are currently under study and evaluation by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Work is underway to build a database for PEMs that will aide in determining acceptance of generic part families by vendor and package. Data is being gathered on PEMs which includes radiation tolerance, outgassing, moisture absorption/desorption, acoustic microscopy, glass transition temperature, and dye penetration. The results will then be used to make quality, reliability, and risk assessments that in turn would provide projects an avenue to use COTS parts for various missions. The end objective is to establish and define criteria that will allow users of PEMs to determine their risk when plastic parts are used in lieu of traditional ceramic parts. The data and findings will be presented.