Breakdown Phenomena in SD Cards Exposed to Proton Irradiation

Commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) technologies are increasingly used to realize compact, low-cost and high-performance on-board equipment. Before a COTS technology can be adopted in orbit, its performance must be verified in the orbit environment, where factors such as radiation must be considered. This paper presents the irradiation test results of SD cards exposed to gamma ray and proton irradiation. During the testing, we find breakdown phenomena specific to proton irradiation whereas extreme gamma ray irradiation exerts no significant effect. Moreover, the proton phenomena occurs even when the target is switched off throughout the irradiation. The anomalies induced by the irradiation are irreversible.