A printed circuit board (PCB) manufacturer ACB, in Belgium, has been granted both a company and technology-based ESA qualification for their High Density Interconnect Printed Circuit Boards for the first time.&nbsp;

First ESA qualification granted for High Density Interconnect PCBs

The road to qualification was full of technical challenges as this advanced PCB technology is complex to manufacture and the failure modes are notoriously difficult to screen. Microprocessor chips and other EEE components do not function in isolation. They need to be interconnected, as well as protected from harsh environmental conditions caused by soldering processes, ground-based testing, launch and prolonged operation in space. Back-end packaging of chips as well as system level packaging when assembling EEE parts on PCBs makes up the nerves and the veins of the electronic system, connecting the brains – the instruments – through signals and power. The packaging technologies provide the robustness for the system’s sensitive EEE parts, which need reinforcement and protection from mechanical and thermal stress to operate reliably and in unison within the electronic system.&nbsp;

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Developments at chip level have a profound impact on its packaging, PCB and electronic assembly technologies. Most prominently, the high number of component input and outputs, their small pitch and high signal speeds drive the need for short, dense and complex routing technologies in the PCB assembly. These High Density Interconnect (HDI) technologies were so far not covered by the generic PCB qualification scheme as per ECSS-Q-ST-70-60. This required case-by-case project qualification of individual designs and batches -- a significant hurdle in space projects.
A specific technology feature of HDI PCBs are <a href="https://www.esa.int/Enabling_Support/Space_Engineering_Technology/ESA_s_new_dimension_in_printed_circuit_design" target="_blank">microvias</a>. These are laser-drilled holes in the dielectric insulator that expose the underlying internal copper layer. Subsequent plating processes ensure connectivity between layers. The adhesive bond between copper plating and the internal layer depends, among other things, on the efficiency of wet chemistry and plasma gas processes to clean the surface in the small diameter blind holes, which typically includes dozens of process steps and hundreds of parameters. This is inspected and tested on a relatively small sample size and it is critical that the same efficiency is ensured on the thousands of microvia holes in the PCB, on every production panel of every batch and every design. A potential weakness is likely to manifest itself only in hot conditions as the plated copper pulls away from the internal layer. When diagnostics are run at room temperature, such failure may self-heal and remain undetected. Qualitative inspection using microscopy is also inefficient, as the polishing on soft copper can mask a crack line and only very few holes can be assessed using such labour intensive procedure. The difficulty to screen for this failure mode has given rise to a global industry <a href="https://www.ipc.org/news-release/ipc-issues-electronics-industry-warning-printed-board-microvia-reliability-high" target="_blank">alert</a>, named ‘the hidden reliability threat’ and is subject of extensive technical sessions in conferences on electronics manufacturing and packaging.&nbsp;

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During the contract it turned out that other HDI features, named buried vias, are more prone to thermal cycling fatigue than the microvias. The latter were already subject to several process optimisations and the same exercise needed to be done for the buried via. The qualification was declared failed due to copper crack initiations. After optimisation of design and processes, supported by modelling and a design of experiments, the qualification vehicle was redesigned, remanufactured and retested and successfully awarded.
The activity was funded through the General Support Technology Programme’s (GSTP) Element 1. The Belgian consortium, which ACB was a part of, was led by IMEC and included TAS-B. The activity was described in the Advanced Manufacturing compendium and awarded in Belgium in 2018. Several workshops and review meetings were held, not only within the consortium but also to include input from external stakeholders and the possible OEM customer base. Five papers were published in various conferences and journals, such as the <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12567-021-00403-2" target="_blank">CEAS space journal</a> . The consortium members received the best international paper <a href="https://www.pcbdirectory.com/news/ipc-apex-expo-2020-best-technical-papers-announced" target="_blank">award</a> in the world’s most prominent conference IPC APEX EXPO 2020, as well as an honourable mention in 2022. The activities and published results led to a strengthened collaboration with world’s leading experts in HDI technology. Recently, the global electronics industry association IPC raised a European working group to further investigate microvia reliability, which is led by ESA and IMEC.
A similar GSTP activity on HDI is about to be concluded with two French PCB manufacturers, and another one will be initiated this year in Italy. Moreover, IMEC and ACB have recently kicked off a follow-on activity for High Speed HDI, which aims to further improve the routing technology for better signal integrity, as well as a dedicated activity on thermomechanical modelling of electronic modules. Meanwhile, TESAT pursued an internal technology development and qualification activity for High Speed HDI which is about to be concluded as well. In generic terms, the European PCB supply chain is under tremendous pressure to provide cost-effective high-reliability and high-end technologies in a short lead-time. Technology development contracts are paramount to spin-in advanced PCB technologies in ESA projects. The up-to-date status of qualified PCB technology can be found on <a href="https://escies.org/webdocument/showArticle?id=798&groupid=6" target="_self">ESCIES.org</a>.&nbsp;

The ESA Masterclass: Watch Nicolas Bobrinsky as he shares his wealth of knowledge and lessons learned during his journey at ESA. With 35 years of experience at ESA, Nicolas Bobrinsky is the former Head of Ground Systems Engineering &amp; Innovation Department. He initiated and further managed the Space Situational Awareness and later the ESA Space Safety Programme.&nbsp;
In a series of 4 videos, he shares his experience and insights on Innovation and Risk Management, Space Safety, People management and Teamwork and Excellence.

Nicolas Bobrinsky | ESA Masterclass

Innovation is triggered by many drivers. One of these is the constant need for ESA to develop innovative solutions, such as unique spacecraft technologies.

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Satellites in orbit underpin our modern lives. They are used in many areas and disciplines, including space science, Earth observation, meteorology, climate research, telecommunication, navigation and human space exploration. However, as space activities have increased, a new and unexpected hazard has started to emerge: space debris.
In this second video, Nicolas looks back on the first key steps taken at ESA to develop the Space Safety Programme, devoted to the detection, prevention and mitigation of threats originating from space.

In the third video, Nicolas shares some lessons learned in his decades as a team leader on what it takes to keep a team together through mutual trust and recognition and make all members work in a harmonious way, like singers of a well-tuned choir.

The level of practical expertise, technical and operational expertise required to operate in such a fast-paced, rapidly changing environment such as space needs to be permanently developed and improved to maintain the technical excellence at the right level. But the constant improvement of the technical and operational knowledge is an exciting journey.

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We all know the saying that there is strength in numbers. The next revolution in space technology could be the use of swarms of tiny spacecraft, called CubeSats, that work together to achieve things greater than what any lone spacecraft can. CubeSats, assemble!&nbsp;

Join the hive: send your ideas for CubeSat swarms

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A CubeSat is a miniature satellite made up of one or more standard-sized 'units'. Each unit measures just 10 cm×10 cm×10 cm and weighs less than two kilograms. They are quick and cheap to produce and can carry all sorts of instruments on board. Almost 2000 of these tiny spacecraft have already been launched into space; while these have mostly operated alone, technological developments in recent years mean that we may soon use 'swarms' of tens of CubeSats that operate autonomously.&nbsp;

"In the last four years we've demonstrated that CubeSats can effectively communicate with each other via inter-satellite links, and we have exciting developments in our technology programme for their movement control in all directions," explains Roger Walker, head of ESA's CubeSat Systems Unit. "When you combine this finely controlled propulsion with inter-satellite links and visual or radio-based navigation, from a hardware perspective you're able to fly swarms. All that’s left is to address the challenges in software to guide, control and safely manage the swarm as a whole."

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CubeSat swarms could greatly outperform classical spacecraft systems, or even touch totally new application areas impossible to address with classical configurations. This is why ESA is asking for your innovative ideas for new mission concepts enabled by swarms of CubeSats. The open call for ideas, which is being run by the Preparation element of ESA's Basic Activities through the Open Space Innovation Platform (OSIP), welcomes ideas for both scientific and commercial applications.

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Roger: "We really encourage proposals from consortia – partnerships between industry and research institutes – because in our experience this leads to concepts which are realistic from a technical point of view, while being focused on interesting applications."
There are two types of swarms you could consider. One is a distributed swarm, in which many CubeSats fly in formation, connected by inter-satellite links and using onboard data processing techniques to generate a single output that gets sent back to Earth. The alternative is an aggregated swarm, in which separate CubeSats rendezvous and dock together, potentially with a larger central hub, to form a larger modular spacecraft that can autonomously (re)assemble itself. Both types of swarms allow us to overcome the size and weight constraints of the rockets that carry them to space, and could challenge classical spacecraft design methods and operations.

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"The concept of using CubeSat swarms for a wide variety of missions has never had a dedicated open call before at ESA. I'm very excited to see what comes from this call. Previous open calls have resulted in ideas which we never thought of, and we'll certainly push the boundaries of the state of the art, leading to new breakthroughs." – Roger Walker

<h3>Launching your idea</h3>
The call for ideas will be open until 17 February 2023. You can find full details and up-to-date information of the timing, process and conditions via OSIP. Selected mission concepts will be given six months and funding from ESA up to €100 000 to perform a mission/system concept study. The best concept will then be awarded a session at the Agency's Concurrent Design Facility together with ESA experts, potentially the first step towards an In-Orbit Demonstration (IOD). If your mission concept is selected, you won't have to wait long: ESA hopes to launch the first swarm IOD missions by 2026, to have the first operational mission launched by 2029.
"OSIP now has such a wide network within the European space community that it allows us to reach the maximum amount of people. Meanwhile, the online submission process on OSIP is very easy. I think there's no better mechanism within the Agency for soliciting a large number of diverse concepts," says Roger.
Just like a swarm, and in line with ESA's priorities outlined in its Agenda 2025, we are stronger when we work together. Because yes, there is strength in numbers.

Member State delegations pledged a record-breaking €16.9 billion budget for ESA at last week's Council at Ministerial Level in Paris, including renewed support for dedicated R&amp;D programmes employed by ESA’s Directorate of Technology, Engineering and Quality to invent the future in space.

Renewed support for ESA innovation at Paris Ministerial

In advance of the Ministerial, the Directorate had published an updated version of its Technology Strategy, setting out its plan for technology development in response to ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher’s Agenda 2025, which itself underlined innovation as a crucial element in ESA’s future.&nbsp;&nbsp;
As the Director General himself previously emphasised: “Technology is at the heart of everything ESA does.” Now the outcome of the Ministerial represents a clear endorsement of that approach.&nbsp;

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“This has been a good result for ESA, and the wider space sector in Europe,” comments Torben Henriksen, ESA Director of Technology, Engineering and Quality. “Our Directorate will play an essential part in all the new and renewed programmes approved this week, because our job is to develop and optimise all the technologies needed to realise Agency missions.&nbsp;&nbsp;
“We are also grateful for the strong support given to our Directorate technology development programmes, which span all the stages of innovation for space – from our very first contact with new ideas to finalising new products for market, all the way up to actually testing them in space.”&nbsp;

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The support to ESA’s Basic Activities will allow the Directorate to continue to prepare the future of the European space sector by funding early stage technology developments and studies via its Discovery and Preparation elements, including early ‘black sky’ thinking on promising concepts from all available sources, and the Technology Development Element, developing early prototypes and laboratory versions of new technologies.&nbsp;
The follow-on General Support Technology Programme takes these technologies from the mid-Technology Readiness Levels to ready them for space and the marketplace. Despite being an optional programme, GSTP was once again subscribed to by all ESA Member States, in recognition of its value and effectiveness.

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Support was well balanced between the three elements of GSTP: Element 1 ‘Develop’ qualifies technologies for space use, while the market-driven Element 2 ‘Make’ seeks to mature technologies into finalised products. Element 3 ‘Fly’ provides European industry with early opportunities to fly promising technologies in space, by hosting flight opportunities and in-orbit demonstration missions, especially using miniature ‘CubeSats’.&nbsp;
This Ministerial saw two new components added to GSTP, which both received good support from delegations.

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This Ministerial saw two new components added to GSTP, which both received good support from delegations.&nbsp;&nbsp;
The EEE Space Component Sovereignty for Europe aims to safeguard the supply of Electrical, Electronic and Electromechanical (EEE) components, working with industry, ESA Member States and European organisations such as European Commission and European Defence Agency, to deliver a stable, predictable development and procurement approach for EEE parts over an initial five-year period, to compensate for current volatility in the global microprocessor market.&nbsp;
And ENDURE, for ‘EuropeaN Devices Using Radioisotope Energy’, will deliver an end-to-end European capability for radioisotope heat and power systems by the end of this decade, opening up exploration of the outer Solar System as well as challenging planetary environments such as the long nights on the lunar surface or the cold and stormy conditions prevailing on Mars.

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And ENDURE, for ‘EuropeaN Devices Using Radioisotope Energy’, will deliver an end-to-end European capability for radioisotope heat and power systems by the end of this decade, opening up exploration of the outer Solar System as well as challenging planetary environments such as the long nights on the lunar surface or the cold and stormy conditions prevailing on Mars.
Another new initiative, SOLARIS to advance key technologies for Space-Based Solar Power plants, forms part of the over-subscribed Element 1 of GSTP. Discussions are now underway with national delegations on their preferred levels of commitment.&nbsp;
In an additional piece of good excellent news for the Directorate, the Hera asteroid mission for planetary defence received the funding needed to complete and launch the mission. Hera, tasked with performing a close-up survey of the Dimorphos asteroid which was this year diverted by NASA’s DART spacecraft, is a mission of ESA’s Space Safety programme but with the Directorate of Technology, Engineering and Quality responsible for its implementation.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Whether sending European spacecraft to distant frontiers, studying our home planet in greater detail than ever before, or designing new launch systems, ESA activities drive the development of new technologies.

These technologies can be protected as patents, which ESA makes available to entities in its Member States for research or commercial uses. But there is a long way to go before a patent becomes a product.

Discovery funding transforms ESA patents into commercial success

To support this journey, ESA's Technology Transfer and Patent Office turned to the Discovery element of ESA's Basic Activities. Through the Open Science Innovation Platform (OSIP), the Discovery element issued a call for ideas on innovative ways to use a collection of promising ESA patents for commercial purposes. Eight of these ideas will now be awarded funding to help boost the transfer of ESA technology and the competitiveness of the European space industry.

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<h3>Bridging the R&amp;D gap</h3>
ESA patents could include new technologies to make spacecraft power last as long as possible, or new radio equipment that allows satellites to send back large volumes of science data more efficiently.
But the technologies in these patents are often at a very early stage of development. Providing access to the intellectual property may not be enough: there is often a large R&amp;D gap between an ESA patent and a profitable commercial application, which can make it tough for a company to justify an investment.

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Enter ESA Discovery and this call for ideas: the OSIP call was set up to get new ideas off the ground and bridge the gap between patent and demonstrated application by bringing together innovative members of the European space community, promising ESA patents, ESA expertise and seed funding.
"The call went out to the European space sector to come up with innovative ways of using a collection of ESA patents," says Mercedes Sanchez Alvarez, ESA Technology Transfer Officer. "We focused on patents that we believe have high potential for new applications, but which are not yet being widely used."
"I was very impressed with the quality of the ideas we received from a range of large and small companies and universities. We then selected the ones that most creatively used the technology and had the highest commercial potential."

<h3>Inventors on speed dial</h3>
OSIP has allowed allow the teams behind the funded projects to interact directly with the inventors of the related patents and with other experts at ESA. The chance to engage and bounce ideas around with the people closest to the technology and who can best explain how and why the technology was developed and used at ESA, is one of the Platform's biggest advantages.

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"Often, the inventors of ESA patents have a general idea of how they could be applied and can offer very useful insight to the external project teams," says Mercedes. "But we saw also saw ideas that surprised even the inventors and which they thought were very innovative!"
"Now, we are looking forward to the second phase, where we will really dive into the commercial aspects of the projects. The funded ideas will help boost Europe's competitive edge in the global technology market by opening up new business opportunities for innovative companies, or by helping them be more competitive in their existing activities. We would definitely like to run a similar call for ideas again in the future with another collection of patents."
The patents involved in this call are primarily related to telecommunications, navigation and satellite power systems, which generally reflects the overall distribution of ESA patents. Read about the selected <a href="https://www.esa.int/Enabling_Support/Preparing_for_the_Future/Discovery_and_Preparation/The_Discovery_Campaign_on_new_ideas_for_the_commercial_use_of_ESA_s_inventions" target="_blank">ideas here</a> .

News

First ESA qualification granted for High Density Interconnect PCBs

Nicolas Bobrinsky | ESA Masterclass

Join the hive: send your ideas for CubeSat swarms

Renewed support for ESA innovation at Paris Ministerial

Discovery funding transforms ESA patents into commercial success

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