A monolithic, wide-temperature, charge amplification channel for extreme environments

This paper describes the design, implementation, and characterization of a monolithic charge amplification channel for use as a piezoelectric sensor front-end in extreme environment applications. 12The design leverages a 50 GHz peak-fT SiGe BiCMOS technology platform to achieve functionality across a wide-temperature range from −180°C to 120°C. As part of a much larger remote electronics unit, the channel is specified to amplify piezoelectric transducer signals with frequencies up to 5 kHz and amplitudes as low as 200 pC. Intended for use in lunar surface systems, the application requires the capability to absorb up to 100 krad(SiO2) of total ionizing dose (consistent with a typical lunar mission cycle) and be hardened against latch-up effects that cause system failure in a heavy ion radiation environment. Preliminary characterization of the channel shows the desired integration of an AC current input, programmable gain, and effective filtering at three distinct cutoff frequencies.

[1]  C. Ulaganathan,et al.  SiGe BiCMOS Precision Voltage References for Extreme Temperature Range Electronics , 2006, 2006 Bipolar/BiCMOS Circuits and Technology Meeting.

[2]  Steven Ernest Finn.  Interface circuit designs for extreme environments using SiGe BiCMOS technology , 2008 .

[3]  Phillip E Allen,et al.  CMOS Analog Circuit Design , 1987 .

[4]  J. Babcock,et al.  Ionizing radiation tolerance of high-performance SiGe HBT's grown by UHV/CVD , 1995 .

[5]  Xueyang Geng,et al.  A 6th order Butterworth SC low pass filter for cryogenic applications from −180°c to 120°c , 2009, 2009 IEEE Aerospace conference.

[6]  J.D. Cressler.  Silicon-Germanium as an Enabling IC Technology for Extreme Environment Electronics , 2008, 2008 IEEE Aerospace Conference.

[7]  Suheng Chen,et al.  Development of robust analog electronics at the University of Tennessee for NASA/JPL extreme environment applications , 2003, Proceedings of the 15th Biennial University/Government/ Industry Microelectronics Symposium (Cat. No.03CH37488).

[8]  Gyudong Kim,et al.  Exponential curvature-compensated BiCMOS bandgap references , 1994, IEEE J. Solid State Circuits.

[9]  Gabor C. Temes,et al.  Circuit techniques for reducing the effects of op-amp imperfections: autozeroing, correlated double sampling, and chopper stabilization , 1996, Proc. IEEE.

[10]  Bongim Jun,et al.  The Effects of Irradiation Temperature on the Proton Response of SiGe HBTs , 2006, IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science.

[11]  I. E. Opris,et al.  A rail-to-rail ping-pong op-amp , 1996, IEEE J. Solid State Circuits.

[12]  Pengfei Xi.  Design of A Low-power Precision Op Amp with Ping-pong Autozero Architecture , 2008 .

[13]  R. Berger,et al.  Miniaturized Data Acquisition System for Extreme Temperature Environments , 2008, 2008 IEEE Aerospace Conference.

[14]  R. Garbos-Sanders,et al.  System health management/vehicle health management for future manned space systems , 1997, 16th DASC. AIAA/IEEE Digital Avionics Systems Conference. Reflections to the Future. Proceedings.

[15]  C. Grens,et al.  Assessing reliability issues in cryogenically-operated SiGe HBTs , 2005, Proceedings of the Bipolar/BiCMOS Circuits and Technology Meeting, 2005..

[16]  Guido Groeseneken,et al.  Temperature dependence of the channel hot-carrier degradation of n-channel MOSFET's , 1990 .