Design of microcontroller circuit and measurement software for SiC and MOREBAC experiment

Abstract: This paper describes the development of an experiment to test the characteristics and functionality of Silicon Carbide (SiC) components in a space environment. The experiment is a part the "Miniature Student Satellite" (MIST) project, and the "Work on Venus" project, both situated at KTH, Stockholm, Sweden The paper primarily covers the development and implementation of the experiments microcontroller and its software, whilst the construction and development of the test circuit for the transistors is carried out at the same time by another team, and therefore described in a separate paper. A microcontroller is selected for this experiment after consideration is taken to both the Low Earth Orbit environment where the experiment will take place, end the power consumption restrictions due to the limited amount of power available at the satellite itself. The software on the microcontroller is then developed to read temperature and voltage input from the different transistors under test, and transform the input data to a readable format sent to the satellites On Board Computer, which can then communicate the readings to the Earth Base Station. Apart from the software of the SiC experiment, a similar software solution on a similar microcontroller is developed for another experiment called MOREBAC, which will be placed on the same satellite. The main difference between the MOREBAC project and SiC in Space will be the type of data read on the input, the number of inputs and the format of the package sent to the On Board Computer. The final stage of the work for this thesis is the design and construction of a Printed Circuit Board. The board contains the microcontroller and connected components, the transistors to be tested, as well as power supplying components, covered in yet another thesis work.