Developing integrated circuit technology that can withstand high temperature environments for increased performance.
Picture an integrated circuit. What comes to mind may be a personal computer, home electronics or integrated circuits in your car or office. While steadily advancing over several decades, integrated circuits have been made smaller, more complex and with ever increasing functionality. However, material limitations have limited their operation to ~400 degrees F (200 deg. C), with limited exceptions.
High temperature systems such as turbines, aircraft engines, down-hole drilling systems and like applications where the temperature of operation may go to 200 deg C and beyond have little or no ability to leverage integrated circuit technology. This may limit instrumentation capability and potentially system performance.
Across industrial businesses, including GE’s, several applications present unique opportunities where integrated circuits working at extreme temperatures may extend sensor and instrumentation technology. The advances could lead to more accurate measurements, better signal conditioning or new functionality to significant system benefit.
A team from GE Global Research is actively developing such technology, with the goal of realizing integrated circuits that can work up to 300 deg C (~600 deg F) for down-hole exploration systems to be used in Enhanced Geothermal Systems. Through support of the Department of Energy, GE is working to develop novel integrated circuits based on silicon carbide (SiC) semiconductors combined with novel packaging technology that can meet those temperatures. Multi-year programs are facilitating the design, integration and development of integrated circuits that replicate current down-hole drilling system electronics capability while extending the range of operating temperature to 300 deg C.
These exciting programs have already demonstrated unique SiC-based integrated circuit functionality with core building blocks that can perform amplification, counting and basic logic, all cutting edge for these extreme temperatures. Continuing work looks to validate basic stability, optimize design and work towards field studies, where the integrated circuits will be tested.
