Optoelectronic Devices Product Assurance Guideline for Space Application

New opportunities are emerging for the implementation of hardware sub-systems based on OptoElectronic Devices (OED) for space application. Since the end of this decade the main players for space systems namely designers and users including Industries, Agencies, Manufacturers and Laboratories are strongly demanding of adequate strategies to qualify and validate new optoelectronics products and sub-systems [1]. The long term space application mission will require to address either inter-satellite link (free space communication, positioning systems, tracking) or intra-satellite connectivity/flexibility/reconfigurability or high volume of data transfer between equipment installed into payload. To prepare this challenge and to consolidate the potentiality of these type of products and systems, we need to build up and to elaborate standardized qualification and procurement methodologies dedicated to Space needs. It is now mandatory to draw specific Quality Standard approaches for such products dealing with a wide range of expertises from integrated electronics, optoelectronics, thermal and power management to reliability models and methodologies : the well established quality standard by an “a posteriori” proof (i.e. lot test sequence as for example group B, C and D for MIL Standards) must be well balanced and modified by some “a priori” quality requirements related to the important topics as Quality by Design, Industrialization processes, Quality by Manufacturing and Testing, and Reliability by Design.