Upscreening

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ALTER is specialize in upscreening Commercial Off‑The‑Shelf (COTS) electronic components—microcircuits, RF modules, power devices, and MEMS—to higher specifications through tailored testing, qualification, and traceability workflows. This process assures conformity with aerospace, MIL, and ESCC/ECSS standards, unlocking performance levels suitable for demanding space and defense missions.

As part of ALTER Technology’s Product Enhancement offering, upscreening can be combined with procurement engineering and counterfeit detection to control sourcing, authenticity, traceability and technical compliance before components enter the tailored test flow.

Why Upscreen?

Performance requirements beyond standard datasheets (industrial, automotive, MIL levels)
Legacy lifecycle support, avoiding costly redesign by certifying aging or obsolescent parts
Yield and reliability optimization: weed out outliers for consistent production quality

When the objective is limited to identifying and removing weak units from a batch, standard component screening may be sufficient. When commercial parts must be evaluated against more demanding mission requirements, upscreening can form part of a broader COTS qualification strategy.

Our Comprehensive Upscreening Workflow

Component Assessment & Selection

Evaluate candidate COTS parts (AEC‑Q100, industrial, hi‑rel)
Analyze technology, package, vendor traceability, lot consistency
Preliminary radiation susceptibility review (based on NASA PEM/EEE‑INST documents)

Custom Screening & Stress Tests

Evaluate candidate COTS parts (AEC‑Q100, industrial, hi‑rel)
Analyze technology, package, vendor traceability, lot consistency
Preliminary radiation susceptibility review (based on NASA PEM/EEE‑INST documents)

Radiation & Environmental Qualification

Radiation tolerance testing: SEL, SEU, TID analysis, aligned with space-grade evaluation best practice
Environmental testing: thermal‑vacuum, vibration, humidity per ECSS, MIL-STD, ECSS std

Material, Process & DPA Analysis

Non‑destructive inspections (C‑SAM, X‑ray) plus destructive physical analysis to detect latent flaws
Material verification: lead finishes, conformal coatings, counterfeit prevention (SAE AS5553A, NASA‑STD‑8739.10)

Qualification & Certification

ECSS, MIL-STD, NASA, JAXA frameworks support
Options for qualification by similarity or full test units consistent with ESCC QPL structure
Independent review and traceable documentation for audit readiness

The use of commercial components in space requires a mission-specific balance between performance, availability, qualification effort and acceptable risk. Further technical context is available in the doEEEt overview of COTS in space applications.

Our Technical Edge

Full ESA/NASA/EU compliance: ECSS-Q, MIL-STD-883/750, NASA EEE‑INST‑002, ECSS‑Q‑ST‑60-13C
End-to-end COTS lifecycle support: procurement, obsolescence mitigation, counterfeit detection
State‑of‑the‑art labs offering radiation, thermal‑vacuum, vibration, acoustic, materials, DPA
Fast-track testing lead times, scalable volumes, mixed 100 % or sample-based workflows
Expert engineering support: Part selection risk analysis, vendor data review, qualification board participation