Electronic Materials and Devices for Extreme Environments

Recent advances in extreme environment technology have realised electronic systems that can operate reliably within these environments, opening the possibility of realising Internet of Things monitoring of the entire surface of the globe and into space, giving the opportunity for the Internet of Everything, Everywhere. Packaging technologies can extend the safe operating environments of some devices, but the bigger challenge and broader solution involves changing the material that the electronics are manufactured from. This requires radical changes to the design of the components to take advantage of the potential performance enhancement and different operating physics.

Divided into three parts, this book explores: • The opportunities available from the technologically relevant semiconductor materials - silicon carbide, gallium nitride and diamond - and includes a description of the fundamental properties, processing (manufacturing) technology and the opportunities for the future.
• The technologies required to enable the realisation of the devices that form the fundamental electronic circuits, including sensors and transistors. This section finishes with packaging, the technology that protects the circuits during operation and is often omitted from studies of this type. This section will relate to the concepts presented in the first section, so that the reader can link the technology advances to the fundamental semiconductor behaviour. • The final section outlines the challenges in five of the applications areas where extreme environment technologies are essential: in vivo, space, nuclear, manufacturing and aerospace. These will link to the technologies presented in the section and will enable the reader to understand how the concepts presented will enable the solution of real-world problems.

Key Features

• Includes semiconductors beyond silicon.

• In addition to circuits, reviews devices such as transistors, MEMS and sensors.

• Includes packaging solutions.

• Applications in a range of extreme environments of relevant industrial and scientific importance.