CPU of the Day: Radiation Hardened 8085 Processor
A computer or device used in ones home has a pretty easy life. The temperature ranges are fairly conservative, and there isn’t constant vibrations. In addition, sitting in your home, you are not being bombarded with radiation (thankfully). However some computers are designed to be used in places where they are under such stresses. For example, in space based systems such as satellites.
Special CPU’s are made and tested for these applications, they have to be able to be exposed to radiation with having ‘soft errors’ and they have to work in extreme temperature ranges. -55C-125C is the standard military temperature range for such processors.
Harris HS1-80C85RH/SAMPLE
Here is a 8085 processor made by Harris Semiconductor (now Intersil). It is a sample of a device that would be used in such environments. A fully qualified chip would cost many thousands of dollars typically. This is because all of the time consuming tests that have to be done (including many devices that must be destroyed in testing).
