Space and Defense Systems

Vanderbilt University has the world’s largest university-based program in radiation effects on microelectronics and photonics, specializing in characterizing radiation effects in materials, devices, circuits, and systems. Faculty, engineering staff, and students in the Radiation Effects and Reliability (RER) Research Group and Institute for Space and Defense Electronics (ISDE) develop and apply tools, experimental techniques, theoretical understanding, and models that can be applied to multiple emerging technologies that are integral to advanced satellite systems, GPS navigation, remote sensing, communications, and other electronics and photonics applications. The capabilities developed through these research studies contribute to a wide range of defense, space, and commercial applications requiring the reliable operation of materials, devices, and circuits in high radiation environments. RER/ISDE researchers have extensive experience in all aspects of radiation effects, from the atomic scale through system-level effects, with particular expertise in connecting experiments to radiation-enabled models. Multi-scale approaches are developed to manage the complexity associated with microelectronics/photonics radiation response and provide insight at each length scale and level of abstraction. A comprehensive suite of radiation sources, state-of-the-art characterization equipment, and extensive computational capabilities support the cutting-edge research being performed in this area.

ECE Faculty Associated with this Research Area: