DC-Motor Drive Encompassing SiGe Asynchronous Control Electronics for Ultra-Wide (-230 °C to +130 °C) Environments

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project seeks to investigate and prove the feasibility of developing ultra-wide temperature (-230 oC to +130 oC) motor drives utilizing Silicon-Germanium (SiGe) asynchronous logic digital control electronics.

Asynchronous circuits remove the concept of a global clock by incorporating handshaking protocols to control the circuit. The handshaking protocols allows for flexible timing requirements, high power efficiency, and low noise/emission generation. The flexible timing nature of asynchronous logic makes this type of logic circuit an excellent candidate for extreme temperature control electronics. In addition, the outstanding low-temperature performance of SiGe coupled with its industry standard manufacturing processes makes the SiGe-based asynchronous digital electronics an ideal technology choice for developing digital electronics for space applications. By utilizing the benefits of asynchronous logic in conjunction with the excellent temperature performance of SiGe, future ultra-wide temperature digital control electronics will operate reliably, exceeding the capabilities of today's state-of-the-art Si electronics by several folds. Lastly, The marriage of SiGe-based asynchronous control with power electronics into an ultra-wide temperature range DC-motor drive will prove to be immensely valuable to the NASA program in reducing systems' weight, improving efficiency, reliability, and performance?all resulting in significant cost savings.