From Si Towards SiC Technology for Harsh Environment Sensing

Abstract

Since it is obvious that Moore's Law in its classical way of scaling, which proved to be powerful over the last decades, is coming to an end, alternative routes towards technological progress are investigated [1]. One of the main fundamental reasons for this is that the smallest features size in newest technology nodes is approaching the level of only a few atom layers. As a result, the development and implementation of technology nodes based on a scaled-down version of the previous one, gets increasingly more expensive. An alternative approach to ensure technological progress of the microelectronics world and the semiconductor industry is described by a trend called "More than Moore" (MtM) [2], based on diversification and integration. In terms of diversification, materials beyond silicon can be considered for the development of sensors and electronics, while the integration aspects come to expression by combining different parts of a system in a smart and optimal way. Wide bandgap (WBG) materials, such as gallium nitride (GaN) or silicon carbide (SiC) are mature for power applications, but for other applications such as lowvoltage (Bi)CMOS and/or VLSI they are still in the research phase. By integrating electronics monolithically on a sensor chip, improved system performance can be obtained by having signal amplifications close to the physical transducer. The integration aspects are strongly related to the packaging of microelectronic and

Investigating Elastic Anisotropy of 4H-SiC Using Ultra-High Q Bulk Acoustic Wave Resonators

“…While (7) and ( 8) exactly provide the frequency of the elliptical modes, it lacks any information on degenerate mode frequency split. Closed form expressions for frequency split exist, showing that all modes m > 2 are fully degenerate [48].…”

“…This can be intuited by rotating the stiffness matrices for (1 1 1) Si and (0 0 0 1) SiC 4 • toward [1 1 0] and [1 1 2 0], respectively. Using (12), in off-axis (1 1 1) Si, in-plane symmetry breaks and a sizeable difference arises between E 1 and E 2 , effecting significant frequency splits via (7). Conversely, 4H-SiC remains virtually isotropic with E 1 ≈ E 2 ≈ const.…”

“…To that end, hexagonal 4H-silicon carbide (hereinafter SiC) is a promising material for applications Si is not appropriate for, including bio-compatible implantable sensors [5], nonlinear quantum photonics [6], and microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) deployed in harsh environments (e.g. high temperature [7], radiation [8], vibration [9]).…”

Thermal Stability of the Ferroelectric Properties in 100 nm-Thick Al0.72Sc0.28N

“…The largest temperature at which a stable operation of flash and dynamic random-access memories (DRAM) is guaranteed (378–443 K) is not enough to allow a long-duration exploration on the surface of other planets such as Venus, whose atmosphere can reach 733 K. − Notably, the required operating temperature for electronic components in future spacecrafts is expected to increase to 773 K . More temperature-stable technologies based on high bandgap semiconductors like SiC or GaN are hence required to overcome the limits of standard silicon technologies. , Implementing memories exploiting such semiconductors poses additional challenges. Most emerging memory technologies are both simpler to integrate and have an inherently higher resistance to radiation.…”

Femtosecond Laser Processing Assisted SiC High-Temperature Pressure Sensor Fabrication and Performance Test

“…For example, in aero-engine operation state evaluation, a pressure sensor is necessary for internal flow field motion monitoring [ 2 , 3 ], and the internal temperature of an aero-engine often exceeds 500 °C [ 4 ]; in the high-temperature reactor in nuclear power plants, the pressure change in high-temperature fluids (≥350 °C) in the pipeline needs real-time monitoring; in the combustion condition monitoring of an automobile engine, a high-temperature pressure sensor is also required (≥300 °C). Therefore, high-temperature pressure sensors are important and necessary for equipment performance tests and operational health monitoring [ 5 , 6 ]. However, current pressure sensors face some problems at high temperatures and in harsh environment applications.…”