DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS FOR AEROSPACE DIGITAL COMPUTERS.

Performance requirements of aerospace computers can vary over a wide range, depending on application. These requirements have been steadily expanded to include optimized navigation, multiple-target tracking, display controls, communication system monitoring and control, built-in test, and radar control. Today's systems impose even more sophisticated requirements such as radar and electronic counter measure (ECM) data processing, and signal correlation. Two semiconductor transistor technologies are currently available for aerospace computer logic applications: bipolar and metal-oxide semiconductor (MOS); some of the leading processes of each are characterized in a tabulation. Another tabulation compares typical characteristics of present and developmental aerospace memory technologies. Means for hardening both logic circuits and memories against radiation are described. Tradeoffs in architecture are considered, including partitioning - the task of allocating LOGIC FUNCTIONS BETWEEN INDIVIDUAL MOS/LSI devices - the main problem in MOS/LSI computer design, and microprogramming. As an example of a state-of-the-art MOS/LSI computer, the Automatics D1216 is described in some detail. The D1216 is said to meet the environmental characteristics specified in MIL-E-5400, Class 2.