A Wide-Temperature Range Wire-Line Communication Link Using the NASA Glenn SiC JFET Technology

NASA has demonstrated a resolve for a flagship mission in the coming years to revisit Venus and land instruments on the surface. Venus has a corrosive, high pressure (~100 bar), high-temperature (up to 500 C) environment presenting extreme design challenges for lander electronics. The ability to establish simple wire-line communications between circuits operating in extremely disparate temperature domains is a critical need. Different technologies have specific strengths (complexity, density, area, power) which span from high-performance, lower-temperature silicon to medium-density SiC-CMOS and lower-density, high-reliability SiC JFET-R. A viable lander design requires applying the right technology to each temperature domain. The premier IC process for ultra-high temperatures is the SiC JFET technology developed at NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC). In Phase I, Ozark IC proposes to use its extensive high temperature device and circuit expertise to create a PDK for the GRC SiC JFET process. Pre-existing designs by NASA will be recaptured with the PDK and simulation results will be validated against measured data. An RS-485 transceiver circuit will be designed using the PDK and verified such that it is ready for fabrication at the conclusion of Phase I.

NASA has demonstrated a resolve for a flagship mission in the coming years to revisit Venus and land instruments on the surface. Venus has a corrosive, high-pressure (~100 bar), high-temperature (up to 500C) environment. The SiC-JFET technology and RS-485 link proposed complement Ozark IC's existing SiC-CMOS designs, including a general-purpose microprocessor and an integrated UV camera, that can be combined to create scientific instruments and housekeeping circuits that can operate at Venus surface temperature conditions.

The RS-485 data link standard is already a ubiquitous element in many applications: Oil Exploration - Deep well monitoring units can use the RS-485 to network sensors and actuators; Mil-Aero - Health monitoring of jet engines and turbines; Automotive - Health monitoring of internal combustion engines, exhaust systems, and emission controls; Industrial - Combustion and emission controls; Science - (Terrestrial) High temperature manufacturing processes

This is early/mid-stage (TRL 4) — the most realistic path in is NASA SBIR/STTR, which funds small businesses and research institutions to develop technology aligned with NASA's needs (equity-free, phased funding). Check whether a current SBIR/STTR solicitation topic overlaps with this project's technology area, or contact the project directly (above) to ask.

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