NASA Electronic Parts and Packaging Program

Silicon-On-Insulator Operational Amplifier, Type HT1104,forExtreme

TemperatureOperation in Space Exploration Missions and Aeronautic Applications

Richard Patterson, NASAGlennResearchCenter, Cleveland, Ohio

Ahmad Hammoud, ASRC Aerospace /NASA GRC, Cleveland, Ohio

Malik Elbuluk, University of Akron, Akron, Ohio

Scope of Work

Electronic systems in space exploration missionsand in aerospace are expected to encounter extreme temperatures and wide thermal swings. Such missions include planetary surface exploration and deep space probes (hot and/or cold temperature), Jet engine distributed control architecture (hot), and NASA James Webb Space Telescope and space-based infrared satellite systems (cold). Electronics designed for such applications must, therefore, be able to withstand exposure to extreme temperatures and to perform properly for the duration of the missions. Electronic parts based on silicon-on-insulator (SOI) technology provide faster switching, consume less power, and offer better radiation-tolerance compared to their conventional counterparts. They also exhibit reduced current leakage and, thus, they are often tailored for high temperature operation. Little is known, however, about their performance at low temperature. In this work, the performance of an SOI operational amplifier(HT1104) was evaluated under extreme temperature and thermal cycling. The investigations were carried out to determine suitability of this device for use in space exploration missions and aeronautic applications under wide temperature incursion.

The HT1104 device is a monolithic quad operational amplifier manufactured by Honeywell using their silicon-on-insulator technology process [1], and it is designed for use in high temperature environments. The ceramic-packaged chip is specified for -55 °C to +225 °C operation with a 15 mA output current capability, and it can operate from a single or dual supply. The amplifier can be used in applications such as down-hole oil well, turbine engine control, avionics, and electric power conversion. Table I showssome of the device manufacturer’s specifications.

Table I. Specifications of the HT1104 operational amplifier [1].

Parameter (Unit)

/

Value

Supply Voltage (V) / 5 to 11
Supply Current (mA) / 2
Output Current (mA) / 15
Unity Gain Bandwidth (MHz) / 1.4
Slew Rate (V/µs) / 1.4
TemperatureRange (°C) / -55 to +225
Package / 14-Lead Cerdip
Lot # / 9530

An amplifier circuit configured in a unity gain, inverting configuration was constructed utilizing the HT1104chip and a few passive components. The circuit was evaluated in the temperature range between

-195C to +200Cin terms of signal gain, phase shift, and supply current. These properties were recordedat selected test temperatures in the frequency range of 1 kHz to 10 MHz. At each test temperature, the device was allowed to soak for 15 minutes before any measurements were made. Cold-restart capability, i.e. power switched on while the device was at cryogenic temperatures, was also investigated. In addition, the effects of thermal cycling under a wide temperature range on the operation of this amplifierchip were determined. The circuit was exposed to a total of 10 cycles between 195C and +200C at a temperature rate of 10 C/minute. Following the thermal cycling, circuit measurements were then performed at the test temperatures of +25, -195, and +200C.

Temperature Effects

The gain of the amplifier at various test temperatures in the frequency range of 1 kHz to 10MHz is shown in Figure 1. It can be clearly seen that the gain of the amplifier remained relatively the same, regardless of the test temperature, until the test frequency of about 400kHz was reached. Beyond that frequency, gainrolled off as a function of temperature. This dependency was, however, slight and it seemed to occur most notably at the extreme cryogenic temperature, i.e. -150 and -195 °C. In the high temperature regime, the amplifier’s gain did not exhibit much deviation from its room temperature characteristics. While the roll-off frequency (-3 dB gain) at room temperature was at 850kHz, it slightly increased to about 1 MHz at +200 °C, and dropped to about 500 kHzat -195 °C. As far as the frequency is concerned, the gain began to show appreciable drop above 4 MHz. This drop in the gain at very high frequenciesis typical of most operational amplifiers. The data depicted in Figure 1,thus, indicate that the HT1104 amplifier circuit had operated well in the temperature range between -195 °C and +200 °C.

Figure 1. Gain versus frequency at various temperatures prior to thermal cycling.

Figure 2 depicts the phase shift property of the amplifier as a function of temperature and frequency. Similar to the gain characteristics, the phase exhibited very slight changes only at the extreme cryogenic temperatures and at frequencies above 400 kHz.

Figure 2. Phase shift versus frequency at various temperatures prior to thermal cycling.

Cold Re-Start

Cold-restart capability of the HT1104 amplifier was investigated by allowing the circuit to soak at -195 °C temperature for a period of 20 minutes without the application of supply voltage or input signal. Power was then applied, and measurements were taken on the output characteristics. The amplifier circuit was able to successfully cold-restart at -195 °C, and the results obtained were similar to those obtained earlier at thattemperature.

Effects of Thermal Cycling

The effects of thermal cycling under a wide temperature range on the operation of the HT1104 operationalamplifier were investigated by subjecting it to a total of 10 cycles between -195 °C and +200 °C at a temperature rate of 10 °C/minute. The amplifier gain obtained after the thermal cycling is shown in Figure 3 as a function of frequency at the test temperatures of +200, +25, and -195C. It can be clearly seen that these results were very similar to those obtained prior to cycling that are depicted in Figure 1 and, thus, it can be concluded that the thermal cycling had no effect on the amplifier’s gain.Similarly, the phase shift of the amplifier did not undergo much change with cycling, as shown in Figure 4. In addition to maintaining its electrical performance with cycling, the HT1104 operational amplifier chip did not suffer any deterioration or damage in its packaging due to this limited thermal cycling.

Figure 3. Gain versus frequency at various temperatures after thermal cycling.

Figure 4. Phase shift versus frequency at various temperatures after thermal cycling.

The amplifier supply current was also recorded at various test frequencies and temperatures. Current values obtained at the test temperatures of +200, +25, and -195°C for pre- and post-cycling conditions are shown in Table II. The data reported are those obtained at the test frequency of 500kHz. It can be seen that the supply current dropped with decrease in temperature and increased at high temperatures. As far as cycling is concerned, no major change occurred in the supply current, at any given temperature, as a result of the thermal cycling.

Table II. Supply current at various temperatures for pre- and post-cycling conditions.

Pre-cycling / Post-cycling
Temperature (°C) / Supply Current (mA)
+200 / 5.90 / 5.78
+25 / 2.57 / 2.83
-195 / 1.07 / 1.09

Conclusions

An amplifier circuit configured in a unity gain, inverting configuration was constructed utilizing a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) operational amplifier and a few passive components. The HT1104 amplifier chip was manufactured by Honeywell and was designed for use in high temperature environments. The circuit was evaluated in the temperature range between -195C to +200C in terms of signal gain and phase shift, and supply current. Cold-restart capability, i.e. power switched on while the device was at cryogenic temperatures, was also investigated. In addition, the effects of thermal cycling under a wide temperature range on the operation of this amplifierchip were determined. The results from this work indicate that this silicon-on-insulator amplifier maintained good operation between +200C and -195C, as evidenced by the characteristics of its gain, phase margin, and supply current. The limited thermal cycling had no effect on the performance of the amplifier and it was able to cold re-start at-195 C. In addition, no physical degradation or packaging damage was introduced due to either extreme temperature exposure or thermal cycling. The good performance exhibited by this silicon-on-insulator amplifier over a very wide temperature range, -195C to +200C, renders it as a potential candidate for use in space exploration missions and other NASA applications where extreme(low and high) temperatures are encountered. Additional and more comprehensive characterization is, however, required to establish the reliability and suitability of such devices for long term use in extreme temperature applications.

References

1.Honeywell Company “HT1104 High Temperature Quad Operational Amplifier”, Data Sheet900134, Rev. B, 9-03.

Acknowledgments

This work was performed under the NASAGlennResearchCenter, GESS-2 Contract # NNC06BA07B. Funding was provided from the NASA Electronic Parts and Packaging (NEPP) Program Task “Reliability of SiGe, SOI, and Advanced Mixed Signal Devices for Cryogenic Power Electronics”.