Radiation Hardened MCU Market - Forecast(2024 - 2030)

Radiation Hardened MCU Market Overview

The Radiation Hardened MCU Market is expected to experience exponential growth over the next few growth from $1.4 Billion, in 2020 to $1.7 Billion in 2026 growing at a CAGR of 3.5% during 2021 to 2026. Radiation Hardened MCU was launched to benefit the space industry. The first ARM serial peripheral interface based microcontrollers that combine the benefits of commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) technology with space-qualified versions that have scalable levels of radiation performance. The growing adoption of radiation hardened microcontrollers for space applications including remote terminal units, controller area network, digital mixed-signal devices, propulsion system control, power control, mechanisms control and other applications such as critical avionics in flight systems, nuclear and medical products, military and defense applications are set to create opportunities for the growth of rad-hard MCU market

Report Coverage

Key Takeaways

• The rise in airplane reliability requirements in recent years has been compelled by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is analysed to significantly drive the radiation hardened MCU market during the forecast period 2021-2026.
• North America region has the major share owing to the growing developments, the government of this region has announced several funding’s, initiatives for the development of these sectors.
• The developments in the medical devices and the need for Medical imaging technology has enabled the design and production of radiation-hard devices using standard MCU for monitoring blood pressure level and for usage in x-ray cargo scanners, with an order of magnitude improvement in radiation tolerance will lead to the demand for radiation hardened MCUs.

Radiation Hardened MCU Market, By Region, 2020

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Radiation Hardened MCU Market Segment Analysis- By Type

By Type, the market is segmented into Custom Made and Commercial-Off-The-Shelf. Commercial-off-The-Shelf had dominated the Radiation Hardened MCU market and is analysed to grow at a CAGR of 7.9% during the forecast period 2020-2025. Commercial off-the-shelf based MCUs are widely being deployed in other industries which are offering reliable performance for applications ranging from launch vehicles to satellite constellations and space stations. COTS are packaged solutions that are then adapted to meet the needs of the purchasing organization rather than commissioning custom-made solutions. COTS use has been increased across various end-user industries, as these products can provide significant savings in procurement, production, and maintenance. For instance, in January 2020 Microchip Technology announced the launch of COTS-based radiation hardened MCU in order to scale space applications. This leads to the combination of low cost and major ecosystem benefits of Commercial Off - the-Shelf (COTS) technology with space-qualified models of scalable radiation performance level. The COTS products used onboard the Mars Rover (a motor vehicle that moves across the surface of the planet Mars upon arrival) included the system's UHF modem from Motorola in Scottsdale, Arizona, and its radar altimeter, developed by the Honeywell Solid State Electronics Center in Plymouth, Minn., which acquired the Martian surface around 32 seconds before landing. These COTS-based MCU are particularly being adopted in NewSpace solutions to meet the budgetary requirements while at the same time providing sufficient radiation tolerance when compared to non-radiation-hardened products.

Radiation Hardened MCU Market Segment Analysis- By End Users

By End User, the Radiation Hardened MCU market is segmented Aerospace, Military & Defense, Nuclear, Space, Consumer Electronics, Medical, Others. Consumer Electronics sector is witnessing the major growth from $2.7 million in 2019 to $5.6 million in 2020 and it is expected to grow at a CAGR of 10.4% during forecast period. With the high deployment of consumer electronics in space and aerospace sectors particularly for communication, these devices have increasingly been required to be radiation tolerant or radiation hardened. With increased focus on improving the reliability of radiation hardened equipment in space missions by NASA and ESA this segment will witness high growth driven by adoption from these agencies. ESA’s Hera mission for instance has focused on improving the ability of computers used aboard this mission to withstand harsh radiation exposure for a prolonged period. Apart from this, the usage of radiation hardened electronics including MCU for consumer electronics in Aerospace and military sectors are also witnessing high demand. Moreover, the need for radiation resistance cameras and radiation tolerant surveillance cameras for nuclear industry are also highly boosting the consumer electronics industry. However, the cost sensitivities and space requirements of this sector will largely lead to demand for COTS and microcontrollers, especially non radiation-hardened versions, over Radiation-hardened MCU.

Radiation Hardened Market Segment Analysis- Geography

North America is the largest market and APAC is set to witness fast growth for radiation hardened MCU witha attributed to the rise in commercial space industry and foreign direct investment (FDI) into the aerospace manufacturing industry. The rise in airplane reliability requirements in recent years has been compelled by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which boosts worldwide confidence in the safety of aircraft and aircraft parts produced in the U.S. This has led to increased preference for Radiation Hardened MCU. In September 2019, the government has announced to fund $21.5 billion to NASA for its research and development activities. As NASA has plans to develop spacecraft beam in orbit, and satellites. This has driven the research into innovations in aerospace safety and reliability, particularly for electronics.

Radiation Hardened MCU Market Drivers

The need for radiation hardened device for Low-Earth-Orbit will drive the radiation hardened MCU market:

In recent years, the small-scale spacecraft industry has become an increasingly large part of the space industry. As these small spacecrafts grow in capability and designers prepare beyond Low Earth Orbit (LEO) for longer missions and use, they need more sophisticated technologies beyond what is normally available in current space-qualified product lines. The radiation hardened MCU are combined with COTS which provides the ability to be implemented in harsh conditions of space. Moreover, the need for revolutionized technology for longer missions and for benefits such as Full wafer lot traceability, space screening and qualification will fuel the need for radiation hardened MCUs. The new generations of high-performance communications and reconnaissance orbiting satellites are using some of the most advanced radiation hardened MCU and with the requirement for GEO and MEO satellites, there is a rising need for highly reliable electronics. Additionally, over the last decade governments and public entities have played a driving role in space research and services. The emerging technologies, new operating models and innovative concepts can accelerate the space sector. Despite the rising requirements for MEO and GEO applications, LEO space applications will remain the largest market throughout the forecast period.

The growing innovations in radiation hardened electronics:

Rad Hard by Design (RHBD) is a technique which offers modern and cutting-edge integrated circuits. Through RHBD technique the fabrication of radiation-hardened circuits is commercially possible. RHBD offers space-ready cutting-edge products, terminating a decades-old trend of relying on ICs that were one or more generations behind the best-in-class devices. Researchers at Arizona State University have developed a new design technique for RHBD designs that addresses shortcomings of current RHBD techniques. Reverse Body Bias is a technique that introduces an alternative path for leakage to follow rather than leaving it to disrupt any logic. The new design technique utilizes proven hardening techniques while offering lower power consumption and smaller circuits. The adoption of these design techniques in new generation Radiation Hardened MCU will drive the technological innovations forward

Radiation Hardened MCU Market Challenges

High cost of Commercial Off-The- Shelf (COTS) MCUs hamper the growth of radiation hardened MCU:

COTS are significantly being used as they are easy-to-use cost less than other radiation hardened MCU. They also provide very attractive solution which incurs low cost while implementation which leads to the rising use of COTS that will lead to hamper the growth of radiation hardened MCU. Moreover, the expensive radiation hardened MCU are highly being replace by COTS devices, though they are time consuming. Thus, the high installation of COTS Radiation tolerant will hinder the use of radiation hardened MCUs for New Space industry further obstructing the market growth. Additionally, budget cuts has also become one of key factor that is forming a negative impact on the radiation hardened MCU market, as this has led to the decline of major space programs and associated new technology developments which may led to the downfall of the radiation hardened MCU market. Further, the budget cuts are pressuring radiation-hardened designers to maintain quality while cutting costs. This will impact the businesses of radiation-hardened integrated circuit or electronic components manufacturers.

Radiation Hardened MCU Market Landscape

Product launches, acquisitions, and R&D activities are key strategies adopted by players in the Radiation Hardened MCU Market. The key players in the Radiation Hardened MCU Market include Texas Instruments, Vorago technologies, Microchip Technology, Inc., Renesas Electronics, Honeywell International, Inc., ST Microelectronics, Infenion Technology, Tower Semiconductors, BAE Systems, Cobham PLC. 

Acquisitions/Technology Launches/Partnerships

• In September 2019, Artificial intelligence (AI) and neural networks are becoming a key factor in developing safer, smart and eco-friendly cars. In order to support AI-driven solutions with its future automotive microcontrollers, Infineon Technologies AG (has started a collaboration with Synopsys, Inc.
  
• In April 2019, Infineon & XAIN made R&D partnership with Infineon Technologies. In its first MVP, XAIN demonstrated how the features of Infineon’s powerful AURIX microcontrollers can be leveraged to program and enact usage control of physical functions and fine-grained access control to data streams.