Ridgetop’s leading-edge, solution-based products support a wide range of designs for harsh environments or critical applications. Our customers include major aerospace system builders, telecommunication firms, imaging system manufacturers, semiconductor foundries, and consumer electronics.
Advanced Diagnostics & Prognostics
Prognostics, which can be defined as predictive diagnostics, enables advanced methods of supporting condition-based maintenance (CBM) and overall integrated vehicle health management (IVHM) systems. Ridgetop’s approach is based on extraction of “signatures” that precede failure of the system. This is referred to as the fault-to-failure progression. Applying prognostic methods, there can be sufficient time to take mitigating actions to ensure continued operation of the system.
In electronic-based systems, there are five levels where degradation can occur in the system, any one of which can lead to failure (see graphic).
Ridgetop’s five levels of electronic health solutions
Ridgetop provides innovative products and services to assist at each level of integration. Here’s a sample of what we offer:
- Die Level: ProChek™ semiconductor process characterization system; PDKChek™ die-level process monitors
- Component Level: Sentinel Silicon™ die-level “canary” cells; TSV BIST™ intermittency monitors
- Board Level: SJ BIST™ intermittency monitors (part of Sentinel Interconnect™)
- Module Level: Sentinel Suite™ family of diagnostic/prognostic tools, including Sentinel Motion™ and Sentinel Power™ sensors and analysis software
- System Level: Sentinel Network™ network management tools (part of Sentinel IT™)
Click here to learn more about Ridgetop’s line of advanced diagnostic and prognostic products.
Semiconductor
Ridgetop’s semiconductor products encompass a wide range of designs for harsh environments and critical applications, including space, high-energy physics experiments, aircraft, sensitive imaging systems, and consumer electronics. Ridgetop specializes in the design of high performance analog/mixed-signal electronics, and the application of radiation hardening expertise for ICs used in space satellites. Ridgetop also provides test and measurement tools to help our customers improve the quality and reliability of the integrated circuits that they create.
Ridgetop 14 bit, 40 MSPS ADC in 90 nm CMOS technology
Ridgetop’s families of semiconductor products and services include:
- nanoDFM™ for process-aware design, including PDKChek™ and YieldMaxx™
- InstaCell™ library of analog/mixed signal design intellectual property (IP) blocks, including a range of conventional and radiation-hardened data converters
- ProChek™ semiconductor characterization system, for reliability and quality analysis of modern fabrication processes
- Sentinel Silicon™ library of precision die-level canaries cells for monitoring IC wear-out due to several degradation factors and radiation damage
Click here to learn more about Ridgetop’s line of products and services for the semiconductor industry.
Precision Instruments
Ridgetop has developed some of the most innovative systems to address difficult measurement applications. Our instruments are being used at over 75 companies around the world, and are cover aerospace, transportation, semiconductor, communications, and consumer products.
Our products include:
- ProChek™ semiconductor characterization system, for reliability and quality analysis of modern fabrication processes
- CPT1000™, a hand-held avionics power system test and troubleshooting system
- ETRS™ (Expert Troubleshooting and Repair System) for improving the quality and fault coverage of automated testing of digital and mixed signal circuit boards
Click here to learn more about Ridgetop’s line of precision test and measurement instruments.
Rad-Hard
Radiation can degrade sensitive electronics through accelerated aging, causing intermittencies, subtle performance problems, and eventual wear-out. Radiation can also create sufficient damage that failure occurs immediately. Ridgetop has developed radiation-hardened circuitry to mitigate these problems in critical applications, employing both rad-hard by design (RHBD) and rad-hard by process (RHBP) techniques. Ridgetop also provides tools to assess the radiation tolerance of semiconductor devices, and in situ “canary” cells to warn of impending failure due to radiation.
Ridgetop rad-hard-related products and services include:
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- InstaCell™ IP Core Library
- Sentinel Silicon™ Die-Level Reliability Monitors
- ProChek™ Semiconductor Process Reliability Characterization System
- Custom design and consultation for rad-hard applications
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Click here to learn more about Ridgetop’s rad-hard products and services.
Design Services
Ridgetop has a staff of experienced engineers dedicated to solving difficult challenges on behalf of our customers. Our expertise extends to:
Semiconductor and IC Design
Ridgetop has delivered designs using various electronic design automation (EDA) too flows (e.g., Cadence, Mentor, Silvaco, Tanner). Ridgetop also has a line of pre-designed and characterized IP blocks called InstaCell™ that can be used as-is or customized to accelerate the time-to-market for your systems. Examples include precision bandgap references, op-amps, comparators, ADCs, DACs and test structures.
Ridgetop has also developed IC-level IP for rad-hard applications for the U.S. Government (e.g., NASA, Air Force, Department of Energy) and commercial companies. We use by rad-hard by design (RHBD) and rad-hard by process (RHBP) techniques to meet radiation hardness goals.
PCB Board-Level Design
Ridgetop has provided board-level designs for its customers, including laser rangefinder components, and data memory modules (DMM) that are DO-178B compliant for commercial aerospace firms.
Test System Load Boards, ATE Programming, and Defect Analysis
Ridgetop Europe has extensive ATE experience in precision current measurement applications, including Iddq, as well as ATE system programming and customer test fixture design and development. Installations have been made at over 70 semiconductor firms worldwide.
Click here to learn more about Ridgetop’s design services.
For further information, please visit the Ridgetop resource library, including links to Ridgetop technical papers, overviews, products briefs, and datasheets. Or click here to contact us directly for more information.
Ridgetop is certified as category 1A under the Defense Microelectronics Activity (DMEA) as part of the Trusted Supplier Program. Ridgetop has history of designing analog and mixed signal ICs for demanding applications in space satellites that are subjected to extreme temperatures and radiation. Our designs have utilized bulk CMOS, CMOS-SOI, and SiGe at process geometries down to 28 nm channel lengths. Radiation hardness is also a concern, and Ridgetop has addressed those requirements as well. A recent Ridgetop design was delivered to ON Semiconductor for the U.S. Air Force STELLAR Star Tracker.
Under contract to NASA, Ridgetop designed an effective 3-axis wireless rotational sensor. The RotoSense™ sensor has been tested on fast-spinning pinion gears on helicopter gear boxes, and also rolling stock for railroad safety improvements.