ASICs for high temperatures and harsh environments

IRTG, Bergen

17 October 2012

SINTEF ICT

Joar Martin Østby

Senior Research Scientist

joar.m.ostby@sintef.no

joar@ifi.uio.no

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Outline1. Definitions

2. ICs in general

3. High temperature in generala) Market

b) Challenges

c) Substrate, connectivity and integration

d) Semiconductor technologies

e) Integrated circuits (ASICs)

f) Discrete components: sensors and devices

g) Standard components

4. Activity at SINTEFa) ASICs

b) Harsh environment projects

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1. DefinitionsTemperature rangeStandard/commercial temperature range: 0°C-70°CIndustrial: 0°C-85°CMilitary temperature range: -40°C-125°CHigh temperature (HT): > 125°CVery high temperature > 250°CLow temperature (LT) < -40°CVery low temperature < -150°CExtremely low temperature < 40°K

HTE: High Temperature Electronics

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Electronic operational range

Total reported temperature range: -270°C - 700°C Lower end (-270°C): Si, Ge, GaAs Higher end (700°C): Diamond Schottky Diode, SiC

MOSFET (650°C), Si and GaAs ICs (400-500°C). Operational range of same component: -270°C to 400°C

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What are the benefits of ICs? Small size Less parts Simple logistics Low weight Higher frequencies/clock rates Increased reliability Easier to protect in harsh environments Low power consumption (energy consumption and heat) Less noise sensitivity to most types of noise Less noise emission Lower price in medium and higher volumes Improved performance/price ratio Better hiding of design solutions Better total system performance Increased flexibility (some functions can only be implemented in

ASICs)

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2. High temperature in general

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2.a Market

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Market is increasing but will continue to be a niche market Large majority of HT applications in the range 125°C-

200°C Main customers:

Automotive Avionics/Space Oil & Gas

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Market - Avionics

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Market - Avionics

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Market - Automotive

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Automotive – HT electronics requirements

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Market - Petroleum

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Oil & Gas – Operating conditions

Well depths: Oil and gas: 3-6 km Geothermal: 10km

Temperature range: Majority of oil wells are under 125°C with 80% < 150°C Only 2-3% are > 200°C Geothermal wells: 25°C to 400°C with most wells covered by 325°C

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Requirements for in-well systems

Passive and active electronics Reliability is # 1 (more important than cost)

Application areas Permanent in-well monitoring

<200°C with years of continuous operation Well logging systems (wireline operation)

<220°C with operation for some few days Drilling

<220°C with operation for 2-3 months Geothermal and steam assisted wells

> 300°C operation and years of operation

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Oil & Gas – Environment conditions

High temperature Low temperature Thermal cycling Moisture Hermeticity Residual stresses Vibration Shock Thermo mechanical effects Ionising radiation Aggressive chemical environments

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Metallization - Reliability

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HT influence on silicon devices

Physical temperature dependencies … Fermi level Intrinsic carrier density Carrier generation rate Carrier mobility

… is resulting in a change of … Conductance Transconductance Leakage current Diode voltage drop FET threshold voltage

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HT influence on silicon devices

Reliability Electro migration of conductors increases Chemical reactivity increases Diffusion of dopants and ohmic contacts

increases Dielectric breakdown strength decreases Mechanical stresses increases

Latch-up

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High Temperature Semiconductors

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High Temperature Semiconductors

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Semiconductors

Small Die with High Pad Count and/or High Power Density – Improved current density capabilities and higher operating temperature

Electrical properties of relevant semiconductors

Property Si GaAs 4H-SiC GaN AlN

Bandgap (eV) 1.12 1.43 3.26 3.4 6.1

Breakdown field (V/µm) 30 30 250 250 1200

Thermal conductivity (W/cm °K)

1.5 0.5 4.5 1.5 3.3

Saturated Velocity (cm/s)

1E7 1E7 2E7 1.5E-2.7E7

1.8E7

Electron mobility (cm2/V s)@2E17 cm-3

600 4000 400 1000-2000

Hole mobility (cm2/V s) 150 30

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X-FAB XI10 SOI-process Core

NMOS, PMOS, R and C 3 metal layers 90V drain-source voltage 5V gain-source

Optional Metal

Al 175°C Tungsten 225°C

High res poly Cap (90V) 0.13fF/µm²

(1cm² ~ 13nF)

1µm oxide layer 650µm handle wafer

Reduced Cpara reduced Pdyn

Reduced Ileak reduced Pstat

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Bulk and SOI cost examplesXFAB CMOS: Bulk (0.6umBiCMOS) and

SOI (1.0umCMOS) cost

0

10000

20000

30000

40000

50000

60000

0 20 40 60 80 100

Chip size in mm2

EU

R

Bulk MPW 5 dices

Bulk MLM 6 wafers

Bulk FMS 6 wafers

SOI MPW 5 dices

SOI MLM 6 wafers

SOI FMS 6 wafers

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HT IC manufacturersTechnology Manufacturer Max op. temp Product

CMOS AMD 175°C LSI standard

CMOS TI 200°C LSI standard

CMOS SOI Honeywell 175°C/225°C IC processhouse,LSI standard,ASIC

CMOS SOI X-Fab 175°C/225°C IC processhouse

(X-Fab) CISSOID 175°C/225°C SSI/MSI standard

(AMS/X-Fab/…) SINTEF 175°C/225°C LSI ASIC

SiC TranSicCREEInfineon

300°C Discrete

SiC Raytheon, UK 300/400°C SSI

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HT (200°C) and HV (600-800V) devices

UnitedSic 4H-SiC BJT(150°C, 600V), VJFET (200°C, 1200V) and Shottky

Diode (700V)

TranSIC (225°C 800V) SiC BJT, Si IGBT

BitCsic SiC NPN power (250°, 1200V)

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TX530: DSP, ADC’s, DAC’s, Dig I/O

-50°C to +200°C 16-bit TMS320F240 DSP core 16kw flash & 32kw SRAM Inte. RC osc 2.304MHz±1% 8 10-bit ADCs, 10µs 3 10-bit DACs PWM outputs

Applications Petroleum Aircraft Smart sensor applications

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3. Activity at SINTEF

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µPEK activity

Interconnects Wire bonding, die-attach, micro bumps (3D stacking)

Components Thick and thin film resistors Ceramic capacitors Microcontroller Diode laser Optical transmitter and receiver

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µPEK: ATMega88 Microcontroller

The Atmel ATmega88 selected because: Popular, modern 8-bit architecture. Low power consumption. Automotive version available,

specified to +125°C (+150°C). A lot of different variants, made in

the same process. Internal EEPROM and self-

programmable FLASH. Wide operating voltage range, 2.7

– 5.5V @ -55 – +125 (+150)°C.

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µPEK: Results ATMega 88

Operation limit around 180C. Latch-up observed at 185C

One component have survived 8 months operation at 180C without any signs of degradation.

Further testing of a number of components in parallel is required.

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µPEK: 7 years operation at 200C. Is it feasible?

Substrate metallization

Wire bonding

Integrated circuits

Die attach

Resistors

Capacitors ??

Use small capacitance valuesDerating is highly important!Use Class I (NP0) capacitors

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High Temperature Instrumentation for Oil Production

Temperatures: 0 - 200 ºC Pressure: 0 - 1000 bar Vibration, shock Aggressive liquids/gases Difficult/expensive to test

Environmental characteristics:

Logging-free Wells (LFW)

Advanced Production Logging (APL)

CasingStrain

Gamma Multiphase FlowmeterCentrifugal Level Gauge

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High Temperature (~200°C) at SINTEF

Started 1984, design of logging tool Characterisation of CMOS/BICMOS

technology for HT in 1988 First ASIC in 1992. Complex mixed

signal circuit working up to 275°C Almost all work related to tools for the

petroleum sector

Power

Rx/Tx

TOPSIDE UNIT

TMM

HTPOWER

TTC HTPOWER

ELS-001

Sensor#1

DOWNHOLE CONTROL MODULE

4km 1/4" downhole cable

13/km,100nF/km

single conductor local businside tool string

TTC

Communication unit

PT

Up to 6 control modules may be connected in series

Data transfer card

Sensors #2 - #6

Signal and power bus

(2 x 1/8" downhole cable)

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Library of high temperature ASICs

TMM Telemetry Master Module (long distance biphase telemetry Tx/Rx, system sync)

TTC Telemetry Tool Chip (time multiplexing, directly connected to single wire bus)

HTP High Temperature Power (serial regulator with built in reference voltage)

ELS Quartz oscillator control chip (four channel oscillator/mixer for quartz sensor interface)

CMC Capacitance Measurement Circuit (capacitance measurement, pF-nF, <1%, high res.)

/ A/D converter based on sigma-delta principle (A/D-converter diff. input +-1V, < 0.1%, low noise)

VFC Voltage to frequency converter SAC Spectrum Analyser Chip (not yet

fully verified) (spectrum analyzer chip 500Hz-50kHz)

The chips are designed for use at temperatures up to200°C. They may either be put together as a completesystem for remote measurements or be used separately.

Power

Rx/Tx

TOPSIDE UNIT

TMM

HTPOWER

TTC HTPOWER

ELS-001

Sensor#1

DOWNHOLE CONTROL MODULE

4km 1/4" downhole cable

13/km,100nF/km

single conductor local businside tool string

TTC

Communication unit

PT

Up to 6 control modules may be connected in series

Data transfer card

Sensors #2 - #6

Signal and power bus

(2 x 1/8" downhole cable)

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NCM-eye Goal: Measure resistance in

rock Two ASICs designed for

200°C operation temperature Measurement setup:

100-200V AC is set up over the rock region to be inspected

Sensor front ends width very high input impedance (10-100G) measure the local voltage level

Voltage differences between neighbour pairs are found

Resulting values are converted into a digital format and feed into common buses

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AHZFE

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ADAQ4

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PharusITPhased Array Ultrasonic Transducers for Inspection of Tubing

EU project partners: SINTEF (Norway), Schlumberger - Ribound Product Center (France), Schlumberger - Doll Research (USA), CSIC (Spain), IMASONIC (France), TRONICO (France), STATICE (France) and BAM (Germany).

The primary objective of this ultrasonic imaging system was to perform non destructive testing in fluid filled oil wells. Typical specifications are 1400 bar and 175°C in harsh environments.

A variety of tasks are performed by the same system. E.g. locate rock fractures in the borehole wall or assess the quality of the cement placed in the annular space between cased steel pipe and rock wall.

The system architecture consists of a 2-D transducer array of 800 elements, a transmitter block, integrated front end receiver electronics, and FPGA circuits for controlling the array elements and performing the digital beam forming.

Publications and presentations: HITEN 2005 ESSCIRC 2005 IEEE International Ultrasonic Symposium 2005. IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits 2006

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PharusIT (BatASIC)

LNA12dB20dB

G3

VOUTN_LNA

VINN_PGA

G0 G1G2

VOUTN_PGA

VINN_ODA

PDN

VOUTP_LNA

VINP_PGA

VOUTP_PGA

VINN_LNA

VINP_LNA

VOUT_SD

VOUTN_ODA

VINN_SD

BuffersBuffers

OutputBuffer

PGA

Resistor

0dB6dB12dB18dB

ClockTiming

VREFL_SD

VREFH_SD

CLK_SYS

Buffers

GainDecoder

COND

VINP_ODA

ODA0dB

10dB

VDD_A

GND_A

VDD_D

GND_D

V_M

Global

BATASICUltrasound

Signal Processor

Sigma DeltaModulator(Second Order)

AmplitudeLimiter

CurrentMirrors

CurrentReference

RFB_LNA

LIMIT

VOUTP_ODA

VINP_SD

LNA12dB20dB

G3

VOUTN_LNA

VINN_PGA

G0 G1G2

VOUTN_PGA

VINN_ODA

PDN

VOUTP_LNA

VINP_PGA

VOUTP_PGA

VINN_LNA

VINP_LNA

VINN_LNA

VINP_LNA

VOUT_SD

VOUTN_ODA

VINN_SD

BuffersBuffers

OutputBuffer

PGA

Resistor

0dB6dB12dB18dB

0dB6dB12dB18dB

ClockTiming

VREFL_SD

VREFH_SD

CLK_SYS

Buffers

GainDecoder

GainDecoder

COND

VINP_ODA

ODA0dB

10dB

ODA0dB

10dB

VDD_A

GND_A

VDD_D

GND_D

V_M

Global

VDD_A

GND_A

VDD_D

GND_D

V_M

Global

VDD_A

GND_A

VDD_D

GND_D

V_MVDD_A

GND_A

VDD_D

GND_D

V_MVDD_A

GND_A

VDD_D

GND_D

V_MVDD_A

GND_A

VDD_D

GND_D

V_M

Global

BATASICUltrasound

Signal Processor

Sigma DeltaModulator(Second Order)

Sigma DeltaModulator(Second Order)

AmplitudeLimiter

CurrentMirrors

CurrentReference

AmplitudeLimiter

AmplitudeLimiter

CurrentMirrors

CurrentReference

RFB_LNA

LIMIT

VOUTP_ODA

VINP_SD

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High-temperature CMOS services The library of complex circuits

We have today a library of working circuits that we sell. Several of them have a rather general behaviour and could be used in different systems. These are rather complex circuits containing several thousand transistor equivalents each.

New ASICs We sell our high temperature

design competence and design new circuits according to specifications by the customer.

Simple standard cells We may design and sell simpler "standard"

cells. This may be a possibility for one customer or for several customers co-operating for the same specification. Possible circuits may be amplifiers, switches, memories etc.

Synthesized layout from customer input We may generate digital layouts with our

high temperature digital library from specifications given by the customer. The specification may be in some kind of high level language. Examples here are micro controllers delivered by the customers or from our contacts.

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SINTEF ICT, Dept. for Instrumentation Main focus is Instrumentation for demanding environments

Enabling technologies Micro-, opto- and nano-technologies are used to develop innovative integrated products and sensor systems in close collaboration with

Industrial partners Start-up and venture companies

Applications areas offshore, subsea, oil- and gas wells process industry automotive Health related ICT

Lean technology approach

100 200 300 400 500 600 7000

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40

60

80

MeasuredEstimate

100 200 300 400 500 600 700

0

10

20

30 MeasuredEstimate

100 200 300 400 500 600 700

0

10

20

30

Different measurements

MeasuredEstimate

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Centrifugal Separator Level Gauge (2000)

3600 rpm Capacitive level detection:

- 0.1mm water/oil, - 0.3mm gas/oil

Non-contact signal transmission

Built-in power generation Operation at 0-100 ºC,

3600 g acceleration Operated successfully for >2

years

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SLG (Separator Level Gauge)

Measure pressure at several vertically separated points in the separator tank and combining the results mathematically to extract the water/oil/gas levels.

Measuring these small levels of change in pressure (<100pa) is achieved by using differential pressure sensors arranged in an vertical array.

The instrument has been tested for line pressure up to 196 bar and temperature up to 125°C Celsius.

Patented by Statoil Pressure certified by DNV (Det Norske Veritas

Certification AS) EX certified by Nemko Planned to be installed at Oseberg

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Noise Recording tool (Acoustic logging tool)

Main specifications

Well pressure 750 bar

Well temperature 175ºC

Frequency range 1 to 500Hz (fs = 1000 Hz)

Automatic gain 100, 120, 140,160 dB ref 20µPa max

Measurement resolution 8 bits ( 0.5%FS)

Memory capacity: 16 series of 64 (32) sec each

Power consumption < 20mA @ 5V

Signal read out Via wireline contact to PC

Length of tool Double pickup: 1,7m, single; 1,04m

Sensor element (patent pending)

FFT Plot

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Ongoing and future projects

Wireless in-well communication systems (semi-permanent – commercial phase)

In-well acoustic noise recording tool (wireline – commercial phase)

High reliability in-well instrumentation platform for the future (SINTEF strategic project - research)

Pipeline monitoring for integrity and corrosion control (permanent – subsea pilot phase)

In-well timer and release with very high accuracy (Research and test phase – permanent)

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