Monolithic integrated circuits (MIS) based on gallium nitride, capable of operating in extreme conditions, have been developed and manufactured at the V.G. Mokerov Institute of Ultrahigh Frequency Semiconductor Electronics of the Russian Academy of Sciences. They can be used in the receiving and transmitting paths of short-range radar stations (up to 10 m) for use in robotics or space systems.
One of the main problems of Russian radio electronics is the shortage of domestic chips capable of operating in space and high radiation. The general global trend shows that gallium nitride is used instead of silicon and gallium arsenide as the main material to create the next generation of radar equipment and its components. Due to the higher breakdown voltage, electronic devices based on gallium nitride allow to obtain higher specific powers. In addition, gallium nitride has greater performance at high temperatures and resistance to adverse external and special factors.
The actual scope of application of this kind of electronics is short-range radar stations (radars) for both automotive radars (frequency 24-26, 76-77 GHz) and for use in robotics. This direction is actively developing all over the world.
Based on these prerequisites, work was carried out at the ISSPE RAS on the creation of MIS on gallium nitride and the assembly on their basis of models of receiving and transmitting paths (RPT) of short-range radar stations (up to 10 m) in the frequency range of 22-25 GHz. It is important to note that this development used technologies owned by Russian enterprises. For example, the growth of gallium nitride was carried out at the Kurchatov Institute Research Center, gallium nitride nanoheterostructures on sapphire substrates were manufactured by Elma-Malachite CJSC (Moscow, Zelenograd), technological operations for the creation of MIS were carried out on the equipment of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
With the use of these technologies, the voltage-controlled generator (VG) MIS and the receiving-transmitting crystal (PPK) MIS were developed, manufactured and investigated. MIS PPK replaces 3 functional chips. The authors of the study claim that MIS with such a degree of integration on gallium nitride are manufactured in Russia for the first time.
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| MIS GUN (left) and PPK (right). MIS GUN crystal size: 1.9 × 1.6 mm2. PPK crystal size: 2.8 × 1.6 mm2. |
| Source: www.ras.ru |
Based on the obtained MIS, models of experimental samples of receiving and transmitting paths (PPTs) on aluminum oxide boards manufactured at the Scientific Research Institute of Precision Instruments (SRI TP) were assembled in an amount of 5 pcs. The installation was carried out in JSC "Zelenograd Innovation and Technology Center".
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| Aluminum oxide board with installed crystals (a). The layout of the control panel in the measuring equipment (b) with removable connectors for input and output signals, as well as a contact device that provides supply voltage and output signal removal. |
| Source: www.ras.ru |
The frequency of the output signal of the PPT layouts lies in the range of 22-25 GHz when the control voltage changes from 0 to 5 V. The layouts have a total consumption current of 190-200 mA at a supply voltage of 10 V.
The models of the control panel were tested in radar mode with imitation of the received signal from an obstacle at the National Research University "Moscow Institute of Electronic Technology" (NIU MIET). In all samples, it was possible to isolate a signal from an obstacle in the normal (perpendicular) direction to the surface at distances from 5 to 10 m. Such a distance may be sufficient in a number of applications, for example, to create robotic manipulators operating in conditions of increased radiation or other extreme conditions.
The manufactured crystals of GUN and PPK withstood tests on the effects of space factors (heavy charged particles and neutrons) conducted at the National Research Nuclear University "Moscow Engineering Physics Institute" (NRU MEPhI) without loss of performance. The study confirmed that the developed and manufactured in Russia MIS on gallium nitride are resistant to radiation and are promising for use in extreme robotics and spacecraft.
For more information, see "Monolithic integrated circuits based on gallium nitride for short-range radar and communications in the frequency range of 22-25 GHz." O. S. Matveenko, D. L. Gnatyuk, A. S. Bugaev, A. Y. Pavlov, S. A. Gamkrelidze, R. R. Galiev, A.V. Zuev, Yu. V. Fedorov, D. V. Lavrukhin, A. O. Mikhalev, N. K. Zenchenko, "Microelectronics", 2022, T. 51, No. 3, pp. 195-201.
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