When engineers work on new electronic or mechanical designs, the future performance must also be considered. How a product performs at the prototype stage is no indication of how it will stand up to use in the field – therefore product performance analysis must factor in environmental factors too. Currently, engineers are working feverishly to create FPGA designs which will resist a solar storm such as that witnessed in 1859. Because another could be due to hit us.
Northern lights over Bermuda, operators being electrocuted at their desks, recording equipment spontaneously bursting into flames and pylons exploding in sparks seems the stuff of science fiction – yet that’s exactly what happened a little over 150 years ago, when the biggest solar storm in recorded history hit the earth’s atmosphere, causing catastrophic effects to the telegraph system. Called the Carrington Storm after amateur astronomer Robert Carrington, who identified the cause, a smaller event occurred in February 2011. It caused ructions in the electronic circuits of NASA’s SDO satellite – and such flare-ups are not uncommon. In fact, they’re happening all the time.
Apart from telegraph poles exploding, the 1859 event was mainly remembered for the sensational light show. Today, our lives are underpinned by microelectronic technology and electromagnetic data transmission. Unfortunately, solar energy is also electromagnetic – and its effects on sensitive systems such as GPS satellites can be catastrophic. The trouble is that the more advanced technology becomes, the more susceptible it is to damage by solar interference.
Sunspot activity runs in cycles, with the next solar maximum due in 2013. However, the intensity of the sun’s activity within each cycle varies enormously. Data files with detailed measurements of the Earth’s magnetic field go back to the 1840s, and scientists are using these to predict future events; the results are worrying.
GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) technology is essential to our lives, and yet highly vulnerable to solar activity, or “space weather.” The components in PCB designs are vulnerable to attack from a number of sources:
1) Intense bursts of electromagnetic radiation, or X-rays. Although the Earth’s surface is shielded, the radiation can create radio interference. In 2005 it was discovered some solar bursts produce radio waves at the same frequency as GPS bands, effectively jamming the system.
2) Coronal mass ejection (CME) of protons. Dangerous to both humans and electronic hardware, these can diffract GPS signals in the upper atmosphere. Over Alaska, it caused satellites to shut down en masse.
3) Plasma clouds. The most severe effect, these can cause ionospheric storms, inducing massive currents in transmission cables. These relay back to transformers, jamming and disrupting GPS systems. This was the cause of the telegraph chaos in 1859.
GPS technology is used for timing as well as navigation, interacting with everything from currency exchanges to aircraft guidance systems, so accurate positioning is vital. Manufacturers are currently developing FPGA-based GNSS technology, but are hampered by the fact S-RAM FPGA designs are particularly vulnerable to solar fluctuations, which cause loss of functionality and firm errors. However, reprogrammable flash-based FPGA designs now exist, which are resistant to solar effects.We at Enventure Technologies have over ten years experience in the field of FPGA design, producing reliable solutions for clients worldwide.