High temperature sensors based on silicon carbide (SiC) devices

400 °C Sensor Based on Ni/4H-SiC Schottky Diode for Reliable Temperature Monitoring in Industrial Environments

“…As advancements in regulations targeting the minimization of industrial impact on the environment are carried out, precise temperature control and energy efficiency have become essential research topics, which exert ever-growing standards from temperature sensors [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19]. This aspect works in tandem with the fact that most industrial processes demand careful monitoring of temperature levels in order to ensure optimal quality and yield [1,6]. Therefore, accurate, robust, and reliable temperature sensors are among the primary requirements in the industrial sector, especially for the cement, drilling, aviation, automotive, or geothermal industries [6].…”

“…This aspect works in tandem with the fact that most industrial processes demand careful monitoring of temperature levels in order to ensure optimal quality and yield [1,6]. Therefore, accurate, robust, and reliable temperature sensors are among the primary requirements in the industrial sector, especially for the cement, drilling, aviation, automotive, or geothermal industries [6]. To cater to these needs, industrial temperature probes need a read-out circuit in addition to the sensing element, in order to adequately acquire and convert its output signal to standard levels [16].…”

“…Industrial working conditions often include elevated heat levels, strong vibrations, corrosion, erosion (etc. ), which exact a heavy toll on the reliability of thermocouples, restricting their lifespan [6]. Additionally, a thermocouple’s temperature response is non-linear, with sensitivities usually restricted under 0.1 mV/°C, which considerably increases the expected performances of read-out circuits [17].…”

“…As such, wide band-gap semiconductor-based temperature sensors have become a promising alternative for harsh industrial applications [2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15]. Silicon carbide (SiC) is a particularly suitable material due to its mechanical robustness, radiation, chemical inertness, and high bandgap (E g = 3.25 eV for 4H-SiC), which allows fabricated devices to operate at temperatures up to 400 °C or more [2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15]. Among all devices fabricated on SiC (PN, PIN, JFET, etc.…”

“…Among all devices fabricated on SiC (PN, PIN, JFET, etc. ), Schottky diodes are the most cost-effective and technologically mature, with considerable commercial success in power and sensing applications [2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26,27]. Hence, due to their simple structure, very compact size and quasi-linear voltage-temperature dependence (with sensitivities exceeding 2 mV/°C), SiC Schottky diodes are excellent candidates for high-temperature monitoring in hostile industrial environments [2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,18,19,20,21,22,23,24].…”