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
1
Outline
1. Definitions
2. ICs in general
3. High temperature in general
a) Market
b) Challenges
c) Substrate, connectivity and integration
d) Semiconductor technologies
e) Integrated circuits (ASICs)
Discrete components: sensors and devices
g) Standard components
f)
4. Activity at SINTEF
a) ASICs
b) Harsh environment projects
2
1. Definitions
Temperature range
 Standard/commercial temperature range: 0°C-70°C
 Industrial: 0°C-85°C
 Military temperature range: -40°C-125°C
 High temperature (HT): > 125°C
 Very high temperature > 250°C
 Low temperature (LT) < -40°C
 Very low temperature < -150°C
 Extremely low temperature < 40°K
 HTE: High Temperature Electronics
3
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
4
What are the benefits of ICs?
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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
7
 Market is increasing but will continue to be a niche market
 Large majority of HT applications in the range 125°C200°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
14
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
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High temperature
Low temperature
Thermal cycling
Moisture
Hermeticity
Residual stresses
Vibration
Shock
Thermo mechanical effects
Ionising radiation
Aggressive chemical environments
16
Metallization - Reliability
18
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
21
High Temperature Semiconductors
22
Semiconductors
Electrical properties of relevant semiconductors
Property
Bandgap (eV)
Si
GaAs 4H-SiC
GaN
AlN
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
1.5E2.7E7
1.8E7
Electron mobility
(cm2/V s)@2E17 cm-3
600
4000
400
1000-2000
Hole mobility (cm2/V s)
150
30
Small Die with High Pad Count and/or High Power Density – Improved
current density capabilities and higher operating temperature
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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
 1µm oxide layer
 650µm handle wafer
 High res poly
 Cap (90V) 0.13fF/µm²
(1cm² ~ 13nF)
 Reduced Cpara  reduced Pdyn
 Reduced Ileak  reduced Pstat
24
Bulk and SOI cost examples
XFAB CMOS: Bulk (0.6umBiCMOS) and
SOI (1.0umCMOS) cost
60000
50000
EUR
Bulk MPW 5 dices
40000
Bulk MLM 6 wafers
30000
Bulk FMS 6 wafers
SOI MPW 5 dices
20000
SOI MLM 6 wafers
SOI FMS 6 wafers
10000
0
0
20
40
60
80
100
Chip size in mm2
25
HT IC manufacturers
Technology
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
TranSic
CREE
Infineon
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
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-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
31
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 selfprogrammable FLASH.
 Wide operating voltage range, 2.7 –
5.5V @ -55 – +125 (+150)°C.
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µPEK: Results ATMega 88
 Operation limit around 180C. Latch-up
observed at 185C
 One component have survived 8
months operation at 180C 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 200C.
Is it feasible?
Substrate metallization 
Resistors 
Wire bonding 
Capacitors ??
Die attach 
Use small capacitance values
Derating is highly important!
Use Class I (NP0) capacitors
Integrated circuits 
35
Centrifugal Level Gauge
Gamma Multiphase Flowmeter
High Temperature
Instrumentation for
Oil Production
Environmental characteristics:
Casing
Strain
Logging-free Wells (LFW)
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Temperatures: 0 - 200 ºC
Pressure: 0 - 1000 bar
Vibration, shock
Aggressive liquids/gases
Difficult/expensive to test
Advanced Production Logging (APL)
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High Temperature (~200°C) at SINTEF
TOPSIDE UNIT
 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
Data
transfer
card
Rx/Tx
4km 1/4" downhole cable
13W/km,100nF/km
DOWNHOLE CONTROL MODULE
Communication
unit
TMM
TTC
Sensor#1
ELS-001
TTC
Sensors
#2 - #6
P
T
HTPOWER
HTPOWER
single conductor local bus
inside tool string
Up to 6 control modules may be connected in series
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)
TOPSIDE UNIT
 TTC Telemetry Tool Chip
Power
(time multiplexing, directly connected to single wire bus)
Data
transfer
card
Rx/Tx
 HTP High Temperature Power
(serial regulator with built in reference voltage)
 ELS Quartz oscillator control chip
4km 1/4" downhole cable
13W/km,100nF/km
(four channel oscillator/mixer for quartz sensor interface)
 CMC Capacitance Measurement Circuit
(capacitance measurement, pF-nF,
 S/D
<1%, high res.)
A/D converter based on sigma-delta principle
(A/D-converter diff. input +-1V,
DOWNHOLE CONTROL MODULE
Communication
unit
TMM
TTC
< 0.1%, low noise)
The chips are designed for use at temperatures up to
200°C. They may either be put together as a complete
system for remote measurements or be used separately.
ELS-001
TTC
 VFC Voltage to frequency converter
 SAC Spectrum Analyser Chip (not yet
fully verified)
(spectrum analyzer chip 500Hz-50kHz)
Sensor#1
Sensors
#2 - #6
P
T
HTPOWER
HTPOWER
single conductor local bus
inside tool string
Up to 6 control modules may be connected in series
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 (10-100GW)
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
40
ADAQ4
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PharusIT
Phased Array Ultrasonic Transducers for Inspection of Tubing
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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).
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Publications and presentations:
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HITEN 2005
ESSCIRC 2005
IEEE International Ultrasonic Symposium 2005.
IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits 2006
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PharusIT (BatASIC)
NA
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TP
OU
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COND
G
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NP
VI
GA
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A
TP
OU
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DA
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DA
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NP
VI
TP
OU
IT
LIM
V
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D
FH
SY
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RE
K_
NP
V
I
CL
V
A _A D _D
D_ D D_ D M
VD GN VD GN V_
Resistor
RFB_LNA
Clock
Timing
Global
PGA
Output
Buffer
VINN_LNA
LNA
12dB
20dB
0dB
6dB
12dB
18dB
Buffers
ODA
0dB
10dB
Buffers
Amplitude
Limiter
Sigma Delta
Modulator
(Second Order)
Buffers
VOUT_SD
VINP_LNA
Current
Mirrors
Gain
Decoder
A
LN
N_
UT
O
V
G
_P
NN
VI
A
G0 G1 G2 G3
BATASIC
Ultrasound
Signal Processor
Current
Reference
A
PG
N_
UT
O
V
DA
_O
NN
VI
DA
_O
TN
U
O
N
PD
V
D
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D
FL
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RE
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I
V
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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 cooperating 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
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Measured
Estimate
60
offshore, subsea, oil- and gas wells
process industry
automotive
Health related ICT
40
20
0
100
200
300
30
400
500
600
700
600
700
600
700
Measured
Estimate
20
10
0
100
200
30
300
400
500
Measured
Estimate
20
10
0
100
200
300
400
500
Different measurements
 Lean technology approach
45
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
46
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
47
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)
 ++
49