TERMIS: High-temperature / high-voltage mixed-signal SOI ASICs for aerospace applications

• Research unit: EU RFP
• Project number: 98.0226-2

Key words (English)

SOI; High-temperature; High-voltage; mixed signal; micro-motor driver; ASIC

Alternative project number (English)

EU project number: 29598

Research programs (English)

EU-programme: 4. Frame Research Programme - 1.3 Telematic systems

Short description (English)

See abstract

Partners and International Organizations (English)

Coordinator: EPFL (CH)

Abstract (English)

The objective of TERMIS is to develop a challenging industrial demonstrator pointing out some unique characteristics of thin-film Silicon-On-Insulator (SOI) technologies for critical high-temperature / high-voltage mixed-signal applications. Through the development of the demonstrator, the main interest is focused on the design methodologies for high-temperature and high-voltage SOI mixed-signal IC's, as well as circuit libraries resulting from this project.

Thanks to the full-dielectric isolation of SOI technologies, a number of significant advantages are offered in comparison to classic Silicon bulk technologies. Among these special features, the excellent temperature behaviour up to 300°C, the intrinsic immunity against latch-up and the increased circuit density provided by SOI should be pointed out. Moreover, the proposed technology offers complementary high-voltage features, that extend the use of SOI to the field of high-voltage integrated circuits (ICs).

The project consists of developing fully integrated high-voltage micro-motor driver ICs for an electromagnetic brushless micro-motor which is dedicated for satellite applications. The dies will be packaged in the micro-motor. The system must operate at 200°C under a 30V power supply and must survive space irradiation. The integrated circuits consists of a core unit controlling the speed of the motors, and a sensing Hall-effect device. The application makes use of the specific mixed-signal library blocks developed within the framework of this project.

Design methodologies for high-temperature and high-voltage SOI mixed-signal IC's, as well as circuit libraries issued from this project cover potential fields of applications that extend much beyond the aerospace industry. The automotive industry is among the first candidates, particularly for some electronic circuit functions located in the vicinity of the engine block and must operate at in a high-temperature / high-voltage environment. Similar operating conditions can be found in other application fields such as nuclear reactors and military electronics, where a reduced sensitivity to irradiation is required additionally. Without being exhaustive, other application fields for SOI technologies can be found in petrol drilling, railways, avionics and electric power conversion industries.

References in databases (English)

Swiss Database: Euro-DB of the
State Secretariat for Education and Research
Hallwylstrasse 4
CH-3003 Berne, Switzerland
Tel. [phone]
Swiss Project-Number: 98.0226-2