Researchers Develop High-Temperature Resistant Integrated Sensor Circuits

Integrated amplifier circuits that function under extreme temperatures like 6000 C have been designed and engineered by researchers at Case Western Reserve University.

The silicon carbide amplifiers are ideal for use in aerospace as well as in energy industries. The devices can withstand high temperature while collecting data inside rocket engines and nuclear reactors.

The team’s research has been represented in a paper on 31 May by a professor of electrical engineering and computer science, Dr. Steven L. Garverick at the Case Western Reserve-based 2012 IEEE EnergyTech conference. Scientists Chia-Wei Soong and Mehran Mehregany were the paper’s co-authors.

A wide-band-gap semiconductor forms the basis for building these integrated circuits. Researchers determined using silicon carbide. The material will act as a semiconductor at high temperatures.

Cleveland-based NASA Glenn Research Center researchers started formulating techniques for constructing these circuits. Based on these innovative techniques, complete circuits resulted when three distinct silicon carbide layers were deposited atop silicon carbide wafers, with overall measurement of one-tenth of the human hair thickness.

These circuits will effectively replace the existing "dumb" sensors for high-temperature applications. Long wires linking high-temperature zone were included in simple sensors.

The newly constructed circuits will undergo considerable interference that will result in unclear signals. Wiring and physical enclosures used while creating and installing non-integrated sensors represents additional error.

Increased clarity, signal strength as well as more reliable information can be achieved by combining the amplifier and sensor within one discrete package followed by placing the package directly to the location of data collection.

These circuits will facilitate accurate monitoring and more secure control over nuclear reactor, a jet engine, or high-temperature operations.

A series of circuits ranging from simple low-accuracy versions to more complex models that can return improved data have been developed by the research team.

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