Characterization of Silicon Carbide and Commercial Off-the-Shelf Components for High-g Launch and Electromagnetic Applications

Abstract

Recent experiments with die-level silicon carbide (SiC) transistors are described. The objective of these experiments was to determine the behavior of SiC field effect transistors (FET) in a high-g environment typical of conventional guns, missiles, or electric launchers. The results of the experiments have shown for the first time that die-level SiC FETs can survive mechanical forces as much as 12,000 times the force of gravity (12,000 g's) without the mechanical support and protection of microelectronics encapsulation materials (e.g., plastic encapsulation material or PEM). A second series of experiments was performed with commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) sensors that rely upon standard sensor technology, including silicon (Si) semiconductors. These experiments provided details of several COTS sensors previously qualified for high- G environments, which are characterized here under harsh electromagnetic interference (EMI) conditions. The sensors tested included an Si optical solar cell, an accelerometer, and a magnetometer. The output response of the sensors was recorded during the EMI event to ascertain the effect of coupled electromagnetic radiation on the sensors.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Aug 01, 2000
Accession Number
ADA381935

Entities

People

  • Bradford S. Davis
  • David J. Hepner
  • Eric S. Irwin
  • Gary L. Katulka
  • Melvin B. Ridgley

Organizations

  • United States Army Research Laboratory

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Advanced Electronics
  • Sensors
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Ceramic Materials
  • Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductors
  • Detectors
  • Electromagnetic Fields
  • Electromagnetic Radiation
  • Electronics
  • Electronics Laboratories
  • Field Effect Transistors
  • Magnetic Fields
  • Magnetometers
  • Measurement
  • Optical Detectors
  • Power Supplies
  • Precision-Guided Munitions
  • Pulsed Power
  • Semiconductors
  • Silicon Carbide

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Inertial Navigation Systems.
  • Software Engineering
  • Thin Film Deposition Science.

Technology Areas

  • Microelectronics
  • Microelectronics - Microelectromechanical Systems