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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 469 records · Page 26
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1980

Silicon nitride passivation of IC's

Feasibility study looks at effectiveness of silicon nitride passivation coating against moisture and mobile ions. Coating was tested on CMOS microcircuits. Tests included temperature cycling, high-temperature electrical stress, and temperature and humidity exposure. Report concludes plastic-encapsulated circuits with protective coating exhibit high survival rates; it includes tables summarizing test results and figures that show effects of flexing.

Erickson, J. J.↗
NASA NTRS1979

IC Ku-band Impatt Amplifier

High efficiency GaAs low-high-low IMPATTs were investigated. Theoretical analyses were employed to establish a design window for the material parameters to maximize microwave performance. Single mesa devices yielded typically 2 to 3 W with 16 to 23% efficiency in waveguide oscillator test circuits. IMPATTs with high reliability Pt/TiW/Pt/Au metallizations were subjected to temperature stress, non-rf bias-temperature stress, and rf bias-temperature stress. Assuming that temperature is the driving force behind the dominant failure mechanism, a mean-time-to-failure considerably greater than 500,000 hours is indicated by the stress tests. A 15 GHz, 4W, 56 dB gain microstrip amplifier was realized using GaAs FETs and IMPATTs. Power combining using a 3 db Lange coupler is employed in the power output stage having an intrinsic power-added efficiency of 15.7%. Overall dc-to-rf efficiency of the amplifier is 10.8%. The amplifier has greater than a 250 MHz, 1 db bandwidth; operates over the 0 deg to 50 C (base plate) temperature range with less than 0.5 db change in the power output; weighs 444 grams; and has a volume of 220 cu cm.

Sokolov, V.↗
NASA NTRS1980

Laser-Doppler velocimetry measurements in a motored IC engine simulator

A measurement technique and experimental results are presented for mean velocity and velocity fluctuations in a motored, axisymmetric engine chamber simulation. Three valve configurations are considered: open orifice, open valve, and operating valve. Measurements of axial and tangential velocity components have been taken at various axial and radial positions for one compression ratio (7:1) and one rpm level (31). The measurements show that the intake stroke (in both two and four stroke operations) result in a recirculating flow with substantial turbulence generation even at the low rpm value. The four-stroke results in an axisymmetric design are novel and especially significant since the ability exists to make comparisons with theoretical, axisymmetric, turbulent results.

Gany, A.↗
NASA NTRS1982

IC Capacitors on Groups III-to-V Substrates

Oxides applied by a "spin-on" process have been used to fabricate capacitors on gallium arsenide and indium phosphide substrates: they might also be used with other compounds of elements in groups III to V of the periodic table. The III-to-V materials are attractive for integrated circuits because they offer responses potentially six times faster than silicon.

Alcorn, G. E.↗
NASA NTRS1981

Role of substrate quality on IC performance and yields

The development of silicon and gallium arsenide crystal growth for the production of large diameter substrates are discussed. Large area substrates of significantly improved compositional purity, dopant distribution and structural perfection on a microscopic as well as macroscopic scale are important requirements. The exploratory use of magnetic fields to suppress convection effects in Czochralski crystal growth is addressed. The growth of large crystals in space appears impractical at present however the efforts to improve substrate quality could benefit from the experiences gained in smaller scale growth experiments conducted in the zero gravity environment of space.

Thomas, R. N.↗
NASA NTRS1983

Test Pattern for IC's

Random-fault densities measured in array of standard structures. Test pattern is array of standard circuit elements built into circuit chip along with, or in lieu of, integrated circuit objective process. Measurements on ray made and interpreted so fabrication process can be corrected as necessary.

Griswold, T. W.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Hardware Fault Simulator Generates Test Vectors For Complex IC's

Report describes technique using fault simulator implemented entirely in hardware to generate and optimize test vectors for microprocessor. Hardware fault simulator approach reduces test time, while maintaining high reliability in detecting faults.

Timoc, C. C.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Test chips for custom ICs - Six kinds of test structures

Microelectronic test chips contain a number of test structures that are used for a variety of purposes in fabricating integrated circuits. For convenience, their use is divided into six groups: layout-rule evaluating, process-parameter extraction, device-parameter extraction, circuit-parameter extraction, initial-fabrication failure analysis, and reliability failure analysis. A given test structure can be used to gather information in a number of these groups. Examples are given here of the kinds of parameters that can be obtained in each of these groups. A table is included summarizing various device failures common to bulk CMOS and indicating failure mechanisms appearing after wafer fabrication and after stress.

Buehler, M. G.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Identification of the SiCC radical toward IC +10216 - The first molecular ring in an astronomical source

In the radio spectrum of the envelope of the evolved carbon star IRC +10216, the fraction of lines from exotic molecules seldom or never observed in the terrestrial laboratory is exceptionally high. At least 20 lines have not been identified, and it is not known whether one, two, or a number of new molecules are involved. It is shown in the present investigation that nine of the previously unidentified lines in IRC +10216 are produced by SiCC, a radical long known to exist in stellar atmospheres. The true ground-state geometry of this radical has only been obtained recently on the basis of an elegant two-photon ionization experiment in a supersonic molecular beam. Information regarding the molecular geometry and lower rotational levels of SiCC is presented in a graph. The intensities of the SiCC lines confirm the assignments, yield new data on the temperature and density in the envelope of IRC +10216, and indicate that the amount of SiCC there is substantial.

Thaddeus, P.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Protective Cover for IC Packages

Aluminized plastic protects integrated circuits from static discharge. Snap-on cover shorts leads of integrated-circuit flatpack to prevent damage from electrostatic discharges during transport, installation, or other handling before final testing. Cover removed only during lead bending and testing.

Borden, T. J.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Electron trapping in rad-hard RCA IC's irradiated with electrons and gamma rays

Enhanced electron trapping has been observed in n-channels of rad-hard CMOS devices due to electron and gamma-ray irradiation. Room-temperature annealing results in a positive shift in the threshold potential far beyond its initial value. The slope of the annealing curve immediately after irradiation was found to depend strongly on the gate bias applied during irradiation. Some dependence was also observed on the electron dose rate. No clear dependence on energy and shielding over a delidded device was observed. The threshold shift is probably due to electron trapping at the radiation-induced interface states and tunneling of electrons through the oxide-silicon energy barrier to fill the radiation-induced electron traps. A mathematical analysis, based on two parallel annealing kinetics, hole annealing and electron trapping, is applied to the data for various electron dose rates.

Danchenko, V.↗
NASA NTRS1986

RF characterization of monolithic microwave and mm-wave ICs

A number of fixturing techniques compatible with automatic network analysis are presented. The fixtures are capable of characterizing GaAs Monolithic Microwave Integrated Circuits (MMICs) at K and Ka band. Several different transitions are used to couple the RF test port to microstrip. Fixtures which provide chip level de-embedding are included. In addition, two advanced characterization techniques are assessed.

Romanofsky, R. R.↗
NASA NTRS1987

System architecture of a gallium arsenide one-gigahertz digital IC tester

The design for a 1-GHz digital integrated circuit tester for the evaluation of custom GaAs chips and subsystems is discussed. Technology-related problems affecting the design of a GaAs computer are discussed, with emphasis on the problems introduced by long printed-circuit-board interconnect. High-speed interface modules provide a link between the low-speed microprocessor and the chip under test. Memory-multiplexer and memory-shift register architectures for the storage of test vectors are described in addition to an architecture for local data storage consisting of a long chain of GaAs shift registers. The tester is constructed around a VME system card cage and backplane, and very little high-speed interconnect exists between boards. The tester has a three part self-test consisting of a CPU board confidence test, a main memory confidence test, and a high-speed interface module functional test.

Fouts, Douglas J.↗
NASA NTRS1987

Numerical simulation of the flow field and fuel sprays in an IC engine

A two-dimensional model for axisymmetric piston-cylinder configurations is developed to study the flow field in two-stroke direct-injection Diesel engines under motored conditions. The model accounts for turbulence by a two-equation model for the turbulence kinetic energy and its rate of dissipation. A discrete droplet model is used to simulate the fuel spray, and the effects of the gas phase turbulence on the droplets is considered. It is shown that a fluctuating velocity can be added to the mean droplet velocity every time step if the step is small enough. Good agreement with experimental data is found for a range of ambient pressures in Diesel engine-type microenvironments. The effects of the intake swirl angle in the spray penetration, vaporization, and mixing in a uniflow-scavenged two-stroke Diesel engine are analyzed. It is found that the swirl increases the gas phase turbulence levels and the rates of vaporization.

Nguyen, H. L.↗
NASA NTRS1987

Current distribution in a three-dimensional IC analyzed by a perturbation method. Part 1: A simple steady state theory

The steady state current distribution in a three dimensional integrated circuit is presented. A device physics approach, based on a perturbation method rather than an equivalent lumped circuit approach, is used. The perturbation method allows the various currents to be expressed in terms of elementary solutions which are solutions to very simple boundary value problems. A Simple Steady State Theory is the subtitle because the most obvious limitation of the present version of the analysis is that all depletion region boundary surfaces are treated as equipotential surfaces. This may be an adequate approximation in some applications but it is an obvious weakness in the theory when applied to latched states. Examples that illustrate the use of these analytical methods are not given because they will be presented in detail in the future.

Edmonds, Larry D.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Possible significance of cubic water-ice, H2O-Ic, in the atmospheric water cycle of Mars

The possible formation and potential significance of the cubic ice polymorph on Mars is discussed. When water-ice crystallizes on Earth, the ambient conditions of temperature and pressure result in the formation of the hexagonal ice polymorph; however, on Mars, the much lower termperature and pressures may permit the crystallization of the cubic polymorph. Cubic ice has two properties of possible importance on Mars: it is an excellant nucleator of other volatiles (such as CO2), and it undergoes an exothermic transition to hexagonal ice at temperatures above 170 K. These properties may have significant implications for both martian cloud formation and the development of the seasonal polar caps.

Gooding, James L.↗
NASA NTRS1988

The design of radiation-hardened ICs for space - A compendium of approaches

Several technologies, including bulk and epi CMOS, CMOS/SOI-SOS (silicon-on-insulator-silicon-on-sapphire), CML (current-mode logic), ECL (emitter-coupled logic), analog bipolar (JI, single-poly DI, and SOI) and GaAs E/D (enhancement/depletion) heterojunction MESFET, are discussed. The discussion includes the direct effects of space radiation on microelectronic materials and devices, how these effects are evidenced in circuit and device design parameter variations, the particular effects of most significance to each functional class of circuit, specific techniques for hardening high-speed circuits, design examples for integrated systems, including operational amplifiers and A/D (analog/digital) converters, and the computer simulation of radiation effects on microelectronic ISs.

Kerns, Sherra E.↗