Extreme temperature 6H‐SiC JFET integrated circuit technology

TLDR

Extreme‑temperature ICs are being developed for hot sections of aircraft engines and other harsh environments beyond silicon‑on‑insulator’s 300 °C limit, and further technology maturation is needed before system deployment. This paper reviews progress by NASA Glenn Research Center and Case Western Reserve University in developing 6H‑SiC JFET‑based IC technology capable of operating up to 500 °C. The authors design, model, and characterize 6H‑SiC JFET transistors and circuits across 24 °C to 500 °C. NASA’s fabricated analog amplifiers and logic gates operated continuously for thousands of hours at 500 °C in oxidizing air with minimal parameter drift, and CWRU demonstrated improved SiC JFET differential amplifier circuits. © 2009 WILEY‑VCH Verlag GmbH & Co.

Abstract

Abstract Extreme temperature semiconductor integrated circuits (ICs) are being developed for use in the hot sections of aircraft engines and other harsh‐environment applications well above the 300 °C effective limit of silicon‐on‐insulator IC technology. This paper reviews progress by the NASA Glenn Research Center and Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) in the development of extreme temperature (up to 500 °C) integrated circuit technology based on epitaxial 6H‐SiC junction field effect transistors (JFETs). Simple analog amplifier and digital logic gate ICs fabricated and packaged by NASA have now demonstrated thousands of hours of continuous 500 °C operation in oxidizing air atmosphere with minimal changes in relevant electrical parameters. Design, modeling, and characterization of transistors and circuits at temperatures from 24 °C to 500 °C are also described. CWRU designs for improved extreme temperature SiC JFET differential amplifier circuits are demonstrated. Areas for further technology maturation, needed prior to beneficial system insertion, are discussed. (© 2009 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)