High Temperature, Radiation Hard Electronics Architecture for a Chemical Sensor Suite for Venus Atmospheric Measurements

Makel Engineering, Inc. proposes to develop a high temperature, radiation hard electronics sensing architecture for a high temperature chemical sensor array suitable for measuring key chemical species in the Venus atmosphere. The previously developed Venus Microsensor Chemical Array (VMCA) consists of sensing elements which can operate in a 500 C environment, but which currently rely on silicon based electronics for signal acquisition, control and data transmission, which requires active cooling for a Venus mission deployment. NASA GRC has demonstrated simple SiC electronic circuits, such as differential amplifiers and logic gates that were packaged and operated for a world-record of thousands of hours at 500 C. Ongoing work at NASA, universities, and industry is increasing the complexity and capability of SiC devices. This proposal aims to develop electronics designs and architecture to enable NASA's high temperature SiC electronics to be applied to the VCMA to form a science instrument suitable for a future Venus mission. Phase I will develop innovative designs using near term SiC components to provide transduction and signal processing needed to operate the VMCA without active cooling. Phase I designs will be demonstrated in hardware using silicon versions of electronics components which are achievable in SiC. This process is the key first step in applying emerging development of SiC electronics to a harsh environment chemical sensing need. Phase II will focus on implementation of the SiC electronics design utilizing the best available SiC components.

The primary NASA application of the specific technology will be for instrument development for Venus exploration. Future missions in the atmosphere and surface of Venus as defined by the Venus Flagship Mission Science and Technology Definition Team will require high temperature electronics. The proposed development of high temperature electronics for a chemical measurement instrument supports the Decadal Survey finding that the Venus In-situ Explorer mission to be a New Frontiers high priority mission. The high temperature electronics also have direct applications to on-engine instruments, such as pressure transducers, chemical sensors, and actuators for jet engines.

Non-NASA commercial applications are related to the use of instrumentation in high temperature applications such as mining, deep oil drilling, jet engine instrumentation and controls, solid oxide fuel cells, monitoring of geothermal wells, and deep underground mining. The use of high temperature, electronics which do not require active cooling can enable operation in environments which exceed the 250 C limit of commercial high temperature electronics

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