SSVD Extreme Temperature Electronics for Planned Venus Missions

The purpose of this project is to demonstrate the feasibility of a new class of electronic devices called solid state vacuum devices (SSVDTMs), a highly enabling technology for extreme high temperature radiation hard electronics. SSVDTMs merge solid state semiconductor technology, including process fabrication techniques, with vacuum electronics, and, in this case, specifically thermionic vacuum electronics. SSVDTMs have already been demonstrated for highly demanding high frequency applications. Thermionic SSVDTMs, in which vacuum transport is by thermionically emitted electrons, are especially promising due to their intrinsic internal high temperature operation and radiation hardness. SSVDTMs are extremely well suited for extreme environments that, for example, exist on or near Venus. InnoSys proposed and successfully demonstrated in Phase I of this SBIR project SSVDTM triodes/field effect transistors and the associated assembly and sealing to meet the requirements needed for extreme high temperature electronics. In particular, SSVDTM electronics were successfully experimentally demonstrated fully operational at 500C. In addition, radiation insensitive SSVDTM electronics were also successfully experimentally demonstrated during Phase I of this SBIR project. Small scale extreme temperature, radiation insensitive SSVDTM integrated circuits (ICs) will be developed during Phase II of this SBIR project. Currently no other existing electronics can address this extreme environment.