July 20, 2026 / SemiMedia / — Infineon Technologies has introduced the RIC70115, a radiation-hardened single-channel gate driver for satellite power systems and other high-reliability space applications.

The RIC70115 is a gate driver rather than a GaN power transistor. It is designed to operate with radiation-hardened Schottky-gate GaN HEMTs and logic-level silicon FETs, allowing engineers to use the same driver architecture in both high-side and low-side switching configurations.

This compatibility gives space power system designers a path from conventional silicon switches to higher-frequency GaN power architectures without requiring separate driver families for each transistor technology.

The device integrates an independent Miller clamp that suppresses unintended turn-on caused by parasitic capacitance during high-slew-rate switching. The clamp operates separately from the main source and sink outputs, helping maintain switching speed while reducing the risk of false turn-on in half-bridge power stages.

A truly differential input logic stage rejects common-mode noise and improves immunity to electromagnetic and radio-frequency interference. This input architecture also supports high-side operation, where voltage offsets and noise on a satellite power bus can interfere with conventional single-ended control signals.

The integrated low-dropout regulator generates a tightly controlled 4.8V gate-drive rail from a 5V or 12V source. It supports a bias input range of 4.75V to 15V, reducing the need for an external gate-drive regulator and lowering the component count in the surrounding power circuit.

RIC70115 provides up to 1.5A source current and 2.5A sink current for fast switching. It is supplied in a hermetically sealed 16-pin CLCC package and operates across the full military ambient temperature range of -55°C to 125°C.

The driver supports a total ionizing dose rating of up to 100 krad(Si) and has been characterized for single-event effects at a linear energy transfer of up to 81.9 MeV·cm²/mg. These radiation specifications are intended to support operation in low-Earth-orbit satellites and more demanding space environments.

Infineon states that the RIC70115 meets the requirements of MIL-PRF-38535. The current datasheet, however, identifies MIL-PRF-38535 Class V QML certification as pending, so designers should verify the latest qualification status and ordering level for production space programs.

Target applications include satellite buses and payloads, power conditioning units, power distribution units and DC-DC converters. The RIC70115 and RIC70115EVAL1 evaluation board are available now.