There is an increasing demand for electronics which can operate at high temperatures. Conventional system designs would require bulky and expensive cooling systems to achieve reliable operation of the circuits in the systems. Alternatively, there are materials such as silicon carbide (SiC) and gallium nitride (GaN) which can be used to fabricate discrete circuits and even entire systems which can operate at temperatures in excess of 300 °C. Areas such as industrial control, power generation, aerospace, and automotive electronics could be greatly advanced by the development of such technology. This project saw the successful design of a SiC data acquisition (DAQ) system which combined multiple circuits which have been tested at extreme temperatures. While the system would be useful in a variety of applications, a prototype was tested with a UV sensor to collect data from combustion diesel engines which has large implications for the advancement of the automotive industry. If the performance of an engine can be monitored in real-time, steps can be taken to improve its performance and efficiency.

The project capitalized on previous successes in designing building block integrated circuits in silicon carbide. The logical next step was to design a system which combined multiple circuits. A crucial part of many applications is the ability to take and then transmit data which can be read and analyzed in order to improve functionality of the system. In high temperature applications some components of the data acquisition system may have to be located some distance from the sources of the sensed data in order to operate at a lower temperature. With an all-SiC DAQ, the quality and reliability of the data can be improved by moving the circuitry closer to the source. In the example of a diesel engine, the sensor and DAQ can be located very close to the combustion site which provides more accurate data. This increase in reliability and fidelity would not only improve the automotive industry but would also provide for great gains in other high temperature applications as well.

The DAQ prototype was built and each of the SiC components were tested at temperatures of 400 °C or greater. The entire system was tested in the lab, but it was also successfully tested with data taken from an actual diesel engine using a SiC UV sensor. The system consisted of multiple SiC circuits which can be combined in the future into a single system on a chip. The data was sensed, amplified, converted into digital data and transmitted in a common data protocol, all using silicon carbide circuits. This makes for a large step toward reliable high-temperature real-time measurement capabilities.

This project also provided for the opportunity for undergraduate as well as graduate students to work with industry professionals. Professional engineers provided training for students from a variety of backgrounds while getting the chance to move an important technology closer towards a commercial product. These interactions will pay off in the future of those students’ careers, the development of the research laboratory and the success of the industry partner. A student connected with this project was hired by the commercial partner. Overall, this project resulted in technology which will benefit a variety of extreme environment fields and developed new engineers with increased knowledge of how to solve relevant problems in our society.

Last Modified: 01/31/2018
Modified by: Homer A Mantooth