Master Thesis Student in Software Engineering, Communications Engineering, Electronics Engineering or similar (w/m/d) for Implementation of UVVM simulation environment for a space mission

Free-space Optical (FSO) communications enable the implementation of communication systems with very high data rates, maintaining small terminal sizes and low power consumption at the same time. In the past years, DLR’s Optical Satellite Links department has been developing a system to transmit data through an optical link reliably. This implies the ability to protect the data from the atmospheric disturbances that cause the degradation of the optical signal. These disturbances are caused by the variation of the physical conditions of the atmosphere in time and space along the optical path, such as changes in temperature, wind speed, etc.

DLR is developing under the OSIRIS program an FSO terminal capable of transmit at 10 Gbps the user data that has been previously buffered named OSIRISv3. Such terminal is intended to fly onboard satellites and thus it will be subjected to the harsh environment of the space such as radiation. The key component studied in this work is an FPGA which is in charge of the data processing chain from user data collection to formatting the data prior converting it into optical signals.

The goal of this master thesis is to perform an assessment of the flux of particles through the FPGA and then expand an existing UVVM simulation environment to understand the effects and vulnerabilities of the design against these particles. The focus will be placed onto the single event upsets caused by radiation.