I am Stefano Ampolo

Hello and welcome to my website!

My work in F.E.E.S.
Flexible Embedded Experimental Rocketry.

My Master's thesis project was the Housekeeping software of a satellite,
developed in collaboration with GPAdvanced projects, Laser Navigation, LinkIT,
and several universities (PoliMi, Trieste, and Brno). The Cubesat-FEES project
aimed to design and validate a micro-platform for space validation, serving as a base
for future low-cost microsatellite constellations. I played a multifaceted role,
primarily focusing on C and C++ application programming to handle the satellite's mission phases.
I also contributed to PCB design, hardware debugging, and revisioning,
as well as software development, including device drivers and porting the system to Miosix,
ChibiOS, Ardupilot, and FreeRTOS. Additionally,
I analysed runtime processing overhead and memory requirements, and performed Hardware-in-the-loop testing
using an Stm32F4Discovery Board and logic analyzers.
This is my master thesis project: Housekeeping software of a satellite,
my roles inside this project were multiple and mixed.
This Project is a shared effort between several corporations:
GPAdvanced projects, Laser Navigation, LinkIT
and collaborations with 2 PoliMi departments, Trieste University and Brno University.
The main objective of the Cubesat-FEES project is the development and validation
of a micro-platform for space validation (1/3 Cubesat), to the aim of being used
nextly as a base for future low cost microsatellite constellation projects.
My role in the project was supposed to be mainly application programming in C and C++,
to code the behavior of the satellite in the several phases of the mission.
But depending on the project needs and in the team lacks, I also helped in PCB designing,
Hardware debugging and revisioning. Software developing - I developed the application level
as well as most of the device drivers, I also ported the system in: Miosix, ChibiOS, Ardupilot and FreeRTOS as requested.
I was able to analyze the processing overhead and memory requirements at runtime for all of the systems and did Harware-in-the-loop testing using an Stm32F4Discovery Board and logic analyzers. Links to the project here: • http://www.gpadvancedprojects.com/fees • https://www.lasenavigation.it/the-cubesat-fees-flexible-experimental-embedded-satelliteproject-update/


Project Summary:
- Master thesis project: Housekeeping software for a satellite
- Collaborative effort between GPAdvanced projects, Laser Navigation, LinkIT, 2 PoliMi departments (DAER and DEIB), Trieste University, and Brno University
- Main objective: Development and validation of a micro-platform for space validation (1/3 Cubesat) for future low-cost microsatellite constellation projects


My Role and Responsibilities:
- Primary focus on application programming in C and C++
- Coded satellite behavior for various mission phases
- Assisted with PCB designing, hardware debugging, and revisioning
- Developed application level and most device drivers
- Ported the system to Miosix, ChibiOS, Ardupilot, and FreeRTOS
- Analyzed processing overhead and memory requirements
- Performed hardware-in-the-loop testing using Stm32F4Discovery Board and logic analyzers


Project Links:
www.apogeo.space
www.lasernavigation.it/the-cubesat-fees-flexible-experimental-embedded-satelliteproject-update
https://db.satnogs.org/satellite/FXHJ-9671-3244-3623-7704 https://everydayastronaut.com/cas500-1-rideshare-soyuz-2-1a-fregat-m/ Launch streaming https://spaceflightnow.com/2021/03/19/soyuz-cas500-1-rideshare-mission-status-center/
The Satellite was launched on board of a Soyuz-2.1a/Fregat rocket, from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, in Kazakhstan on the 22/03/2021.
The Soyuz took to space 38 satellites during that launch ( 90 18 Soyuz-2-1a Fregat V15000-044 22.03.2021 Ba LC-31/6 ST CAS500 1 / ELSA-d Servicer / ELSA-d Client / GRUS 1B, …, 1E / Najm 1 / DMSat 1 / UniSat 7 / BCCSAT 1 / FEES / DIY 1 / SMOG 1 / STECCO / SAMSON 1, 2, 3 / Kepler 6, 7 / NanoSatC-Br 2 / KMSL / CANYVAL-C 1, 2 / BeeSat 5, …, 8 / Hiber 3 / CubeSX-HSE / CubeSX-Sirius-HSE / Orbicraft-Zorkiy / WildTrackCube-SIMBA / GRBAlpha / 3B5GSAT / LacunaSat 2b / ChallengeOne / KSU-Cubesat) The main payload of the mission was the CAS500 satellite, secondary payload was the UNISAT7, and inside the cubesat launcher of the UNISAT-7 the FEES was installed. The full lifespan of the mission was supposed to be 3 months, the satellite was instead fully working up until the moment it de-orbited on the 14/02/2024, saint Valentine's day.

Growing up means giving up of what was holding us for something greater to be achieved.

My work in ST Microelectronics.

My role in ST was very peculiar. I was the eyes of the company over mass production's output, just before the client.
This job is often split in two roles, the Product Engineer and the Test Engineer.
In short the job consists in making all that is necessary to test mass produced chips,
aiming to discern good chips from defects and avoid them ever getting to the client.
I'll try to synthesise all my tasks in a few points:

• Design test strategies to measure every electrical quantity guaranteed by testing (GBT).
• Design of the Probe Card for ATE (Automated Test Equipment) according to test needs.
• Design Product's Testing procedures (Flows, Temperatures, Reliability).
• Cooperate with the Designers to embed on chip measurement and self test hardware (BIST).
• Develop and Maintain the mass production's electrical Test Program.
• Analyze the data from production to find issues of any source on the Product.
• Tailor the test program to many production facilities and check Yields and performance.
• Optimize test time by employing best practices in testing techniques
and exploiting extreme testing Parallelization.
• Manage the Quality Assurance test flow and its data.
• Check and Validate reliability test data (Ongoing Reliability Tests).
• Characterize the product in all main variability aspects: Production, Voltage, Temperature.
• Analyze statistical data from Characterization to study Reproducibility & Replicability
and calculate proper Guard Bands in electrical test limits to guarantee product quality.
• Organize technical meetings with sub-cons and customers to discuss problems found
and propose testing solutions in a trade-off: yield (gain)/test time (cost).
• Cooperate with the Failure Analysis team to find issues on returns from the client
and design and deploy in production a new test to filter out the newly found form of failure.


I like this job because it allows me to work with all aspects of the company's business,
I work in close contact to all teams involved in the life of the product.
With the Design team, mostly during the DFT phase (Design for Testability),
with the hardware team everyday in the lab,
with the quality and failure analysis team every time there is a new issue to be addressed,
with the application team to compare measurements for correlation despite the different
hardware setups and finally with production engineers to handle issues related to production.
The Client all my team works for is Leader in the field of consumer electronics,
the products we manage are high speed low voltage mixed signal integrated circuits.

Out of the confort zone,
Alone in Germany and working in a Tech Start-UP!

My time in Black Semiconductor GmbH

As an Opto-Electronics System Integration Engineer at Black Semiconductor,
I played a key role in the development of high-speed communications systems.
My expertise spanned across multiple areas, including PDK/photonic mask design,
rapid prototyping, and automatic wafer prober installation and test development.
I collaborated with cross-functional teams to identify and address technological challenges,
developing both short-term and long-term solutions to ensure timely and cost-effective product launches.
One of my key accomplishments was leading the design of a product demo,
a prototype that showcased the company's graphene technology.
I worked closely with external partners to establish a supply chain for production,
and managed them to ensure timely project delivery.
In addition to my technical responsibilities, I also contributed to the development of photonic mask design,
PDK development, wafer-level testing, and bench testing environment setup.
My experience with 3D printing and CNC expertise allowed me to design and integrate hardware for various applications.
Throughout my tenure, I developed strong problem-solving skills and the ability to work independently on complex technical projects.

I served as the right-hand man to the CTO, driving solutions to critical problems and leading cross-functional teams
to achieve product development goals. I identified and addressed technological challenges across design,
integration, process, and product design, developing short-term and long-term solutions to ensure strict costs
and time to market requirements.
A key accomplishment was leading the design of a product demo, a prototype that showcased the company's graphene technology,
and establishing partnerships to build a supply chain for production.
My responsibilities included PDK/photonic mask design, rapid prototyping, automatic prober installation and integration,
and external partners management. I worked closely with an external design house to expedite chip design and managed stakeholder expectations to ensure timely project delivery.
As a multifaceted engineer, I contributed to photonic mask design, PDK development, wafer-level testing, and bench testing environment setup,
while also designing and integrating hardware and utilising 3D printing and CNC expertise.
Throughout my tenure, I demonstrated strong problem-solving skills, ability to work independently,
and a passion for learning new technologies, with a focus on driving innovation in the opto-electronics industry.


As part of the startup environment, my role involved cooperation amongst the technical teams, providing vision and oversight to multiple problems.
These included pdk development with design team, single product design,
I filled in the missing ranks by solving key issues amongst various teams.
A natural problem solver, I worked on the most serious problems as they arise.
I managed stakeholders expectactations as well as having the oversight to bring together what the missing pieces are.
This included external companies missing in the (outsourcing solutions), product supply chain.