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A quarterly research and development magazine.

Fall 2006
Volume 8, No. 3

• Sandia microshutter arrays aboard small NASA satellites


• Finding airplane short circuits before they cause trouble


• Determining wind turbine efficiency


• Testing living cells’ influence on nanostructure growth


• Report faces future energy challenges


• Applying energy surety to military bases


• High-temp electronics open new era of devices

High-temp electronics open new era of devices — continued

Normann describes high-temperature electronics as a win-win on both sides of the energy equation:

• On the supply side, it is an enabling technology for deeper oil and gas drilling, for geothermal drilling, and for use in specific application in extreme nuclear power plant environments.
• It is also an enabling technology on the consumption side, with applications in aircraft, hybrid automobiles, and the power grid.

Obvious benefits

The interest in this technology from the oil-patch is obvious. As well-drilling goes beyond 35,000-foot depths and with offshore wells costing more than $100 million, there is almost a money-is-noobject demand for better, more reliable electronics that enable drill-head steering and better data acquisition.

Downhole instrumentation makers, Normann noted, are fiercely competitive, always seeking the kind of edge that hightemperature electronics can give them. “They fight to stay on the [downhole] tool the way NBA players fight to stay in the paint.”

The aircraft industry, too, is beginning to show extreme interest in high-temp electronics. For several decades, the philosopher’s stone of aircraft builders has been something called “the more electric airplane.” The military is interested in the concept, but it is equally compelling to commercial plane makers. An analysis done for the Air Force Research Laboratory in Dayton, Ohio, indicates that replacing many of the hydraulic, pneumatic, mechanical, and electrical systems in an aircraft with reliable SiCbased electronic components would reduce weight and volume (thus saving fuel), along with cuts to required equipment and support personnel. The future SiC-based “more electric aircraft” stands to save the aircraft industry billions of dollars.

Hand in hand

Normann asserted that “high temperature” and “high reliability” go hand in hand; high-temperature electronics are simply more reliable than their plain-vanilla silicon cousins. That’s why developers of some applications are interested in high-temperature electronics for use in locations where reliability (not temperature) is the critical factor.

Sandia can play a key role in the development, refinement, and deployment of high-temperature electronics, Normann believes.

Technical Contact: Randy Normann (505) 845-9675, ranorma@sandia.gov
Media Contact: Will Keener (505) 844-1690, rwkeene@sandia.gov

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