Infineon introduced the RIC70115 radiation-hardened GaN HEMT driver on 15 July 2026 for satellite and other high-reliability space applications. The device supports both silicon and GaN MOSFETs in low-side and high-side configurations, operates from -55°C to 125°C, and is rated to 100 krad(Si) total ionizing dose with single-event effects characterized to 81.9 MeV·cm²/mg. An evaluation board, RIC70115EVAL1, is available, and the part is described as the only radiation-hardened GaN-based gate driver on the market supporting both configurations.
For the Lunar Ark, this matters because power conversion is a civilization-critical subsystem: every gram saved and every percentage point of efficiency gained reduces launch mass, heat rejection load, and maintenance burden in sealed lunar habitats. Radiation tolerance at 100 krad(Si) and SEE characterization to 81.9 MeV·cm²/mg indicate a component class suitable for long-lived infrastructure exposed to hard radiation environments, supporting more reliable DC-DC converters, distribution buses, and motor/control electronics. GaN power stages can materially improve efficiency and shrinkage versus legacy silicon designs, which directly benefits closed-loop life support, storage, robotics, and repair systems.
The Ark team should track Infineon’s qualification path under MIL-PRF-38535 and any DLA-certified production release, because supply-chain maturity matters as much as device performance. Priority research: benchmark GaN gate-driver reliability against existing rad-hard power-management parts, test thermal cycling and radiation degradation in lunar-relevant conditions, and identify whether the RIC70115 architecture can be adapted to habitat power buses, ISRU pumps, and rover charging systems. If performance holds, this class of part should be considered for redundancy-reduced, high-efficiency power modules in future Ark hardware standards.