High Operational Temperature Sensors (HOTS)
Funding Agency:
- Department of Defense
The HOTS program will develop a technology for high-bandwidth, high-dynamic-range sensing at high temperature. Performance will be validated through the development and demonstration of a pressure sensor module (i.e., integrated transducer and signal-conditioning microelectronics) achieving the following performance goals: Table 1 HOTS high-temperature microelectronic pressure sensor module goals Operating Temperature: 800 °C Dynamic Range: > 90 dB* Operating Lifetime at Temperature: > 1 hour Bandwidth: > 1 MHz No Active Cooling *Pressure resolution: < 1 Pa Wide-bandgap materials, such as silicon carbide (SiC) or gallium nitride (GaN), have potential as sensor microelectronics at high temperature due to their significantly lower intrinsic carrier concentration. However, today they do not support sensor microelectronics with high bandwidth and large dynamic range at high operating temperature for useful lifetimes. There are multiple mechanisms that limit sensor microelectronics at a high temperature. Mechanical cracking occurs due to thermally induced stress at high temperatures generated by mismatch in the coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE). Normally insulating materials at room temperature begin to experience appreciable leakage currents at high temperature due to the increase in thermal carriers. Electrical breakdowns can occur, such as agglomeration or electromigration of metal lines. Material states stable at room temperature can degrade at high temperature. For example, a poled ferroelectric material will lose polarization and its electromechanical sensitivity beyond its Curie temperature.
Proposers Day: May 31, 2023
Various
02:00 p.m. ET, August 15, 2023
Dr. Benjamin Griffin, Program Manager BAA Coordinator: HR001123S0036@darpa.mil DARPA/MTO ATTN: HR001123S0036 675 North Randolph Street Arlington, VA 22203-2114