High temperature electronics
Microelectronics is a key technology for a wide range of everyday products. However, when used in harsh environments, especially at high temperatures, conventional electronics quickly reach their limits and can only be operated reliably up to about 150 °C. Nevertheless, sensors and actuators in industrial processes, oil production or geothermal energy, for example, are also required and used at significantly higher temperatures. These are then usually constructed from purely passive components and the electronics are operated remotely outside the hot area, which requires additional installation space and reduces performance.
High-temperature electronics make it possible to process the signals of the sensors or actuators directly on site in a space-saving manner and with high signal quality in the hot area. For this purpose, Fraunhofer IMS has developed a high-temperature silicon-on-insulator (SOI) CMOS technology on the basis of which integrated high-temperature electronics can be realized. The minimum structure size of 0.35 µm and up to four metal layers allow the realization of compact integrated systems including small embedded microcontrollers.
The realization of integrated circuits for a temperature range up to 300 °C requires a good understanding of the temperature behavior of individual components as well as possible parasitic effects. Fraunhofer IMS has extensive know-how in design and realization of high-temperature integrated electronics for use in harsh environments, even at temperatures up to 300 °C.
We offer design support as well as the complete realization of your high temperature capable application specific IC (HT-ASIC) from conceptual design to pilot production. Detailed information about high temperature electronics can be found at.