Japanese researchers have developed a radiation-hardened 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi receiver chip capable of surviving 500 kilograys of cumulative gamma radiation — a dose comparable to what space probes accumulate over years. The design minimizes transistor count, substitutes inductors for transistors where possible, uses physically enlarged NMOS transistors instead of PMOS, and reduces parallel segments to limit radiation-induced damage. After successive exposures at 300 kGy and 500 kGy, receiver performance degraded by only 1.5–1.6 dB. The next challenge is building a radiation-hardened transmitter, which may require exotic materials like diamond.
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