New approach could change how space vehicles, instruments are designed
December 1st, 2010 - 4:54 pm ICT by ANIWashington, Dec 1 (ANI): Georgia Institute of Technology researchers have pioneered the use of silicon-germanium (SiGe) technology to produce electronics that are highly resistant to both wide temperature variations and space radiation.
“The team’s overall task was to develop an end-to-end solution for NASA - a tested infrastructure that includes everything needed to design and build extreme-environment electronics for space missions,” said John Cressler, a Ken Byers Professor in Georgia Tech’s School of Electrical and Computer Engineering.
SiGe alloys combine silicon, the most common microchip material, with germanium at nanoscale dimensions. The result is a robust material that offers important gains in toughness, speed and flexibility.
Compared to conventional approaches, SiGe electronics can provide major reductions in weight, size, complexity, power and cost, as well as increased reliability and adaptability.
“They advanced the state-of-the-art in analog silicon-germanium technology for space use - a crucial step in developing a new paradigm leading to lighter weight and more capable space vehicle designs,” said Andrew S. Keys, center chief technologist at the Marshall Space Flight Center and NASA program manager.
The silicon-germanium electronics developed by the extreme environments team has been shown to function reliably throughout that entire plus-120 to minus-180 Celsius range. It is also highly resistant or immune to various types of radiation.
“To be working both in analog and digital, miniaturizing, and developing extreme-temperature and radiation tolerance all at the same time - that’s not what you’d call the average student design project,” said Richard W. Berger, a BAE Systems senior systems architect who collaborated on the project.
Other space-oriented companies are also pursuing the new silicon-germanium technology, Cressler said. NASA, he explained, wants the intellectual-property barriers to the technology to be low so that it can be used widely.
“The idea is to make this infrastructure available to all interested parties. That way it could be used for any electronics assembly - an instrument, a spacecraft, an orbital platform, lunar-surface applications, Titan missions - wherever it can be helpful. In fact, the process of defining such an NASA mission-insertion road map is currently in progress.”
A paper on the project findings will appear in December in IEEE Transactions on Device and Materials Reliability, 2010. (ANI)
- Diamond could help design tougher chips - Aug 05, 2011
- Scientists demonstrate world's first germanium laser - Feb 05, 2010
- Now, silicon-germanium nanowires for smaller, more powerful electronic devices - Dec 10, 2009
- Soon, you'll be able to surf the web at the speed of light! - Mar 02, 2010
- India launching satellite to study tropical climate - Sep 10, 2011
- Now, iPhone sized radio transmitters to predict volcanic eruption - Sep 20, 2010
- Indian teacher chosen for US space programme (Lead) - Jan 31, 2012
- Indian teacher chosen for US space programme - Jan 31, 2012
- 20 Indian geeks to flag innovations at EmTech - Mar 26, 2012
- Growing nanolasers on silicon paves way for on-chip photonics - Feb 07, 2011
- Take a vitamin pill to mitigate the effects of radiation: NASA - Mar 22, 2011
- Now, a space tyre that won't go flat! - Nov 16, 2010
- Mars rover begins space research - Dec 14, 2011
- Sun's 'killer flare' won't end earth in 2012: NASA - Nov 13, 2011
- Goodyear, NASA honored for innovative 'spring' tyre - Nov 25, 2010
Tags: chief technologist, conventional approaches, extreme environment, extreme environments, extreme temperature, georgia institute of technology, ken byers, marshall space flight, marshall space flight center, nasa program, new paradigm, radiation tolerance, silicon germanium technology, space flight center, space missions, space radiation, systems architect, technology researchers, temperature variations, types of radiation