+44 (0)24 7671 8970
More publications     •     Advertise with us     •     Contact us
 
Loading...
News Article

NASA studies novel space applications for GaN

News
NASA teams investigate the potential for GaN to map the earths's magnetosphere and to make a solid-state neutron detector

Two teams of scientists and engineers at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland are examining the use of GaN to enhance space exploration.

Engineer Jean-Marie Lauenstein and scientist Elizabeth MacDonald are investigating GaN HEMTs, for use in studying how Earth's magnetosphere couples to its ionosphere - a key question in the field of heliophysics, which among other things studies the forces that drive change in our space environment.

Stanley Hunter and Georgia de Nolfo, meanwhile, are investigating the material's use on a solid-state neutron detector that is relevant to both science and homeland security.

GaN transistors became available commercially in 2010, but they have not yet found their way into space scientists' instruments, despite their potential to reduce an instrument's size, weight, and power consumption. There's a reason for that, said Lauenstein. Even though GaN is predicted to be resistant to many types of radiation damage encountered in space, neither NASA nor the US military has established standards characterszing the performance of these transistor-enabled devices when exposed to the extreme radiation in space.

When struck by galactic cosmic rays or other energetic particles, electronic equipment can experience catastrophic or transient single-event upsets. "We have standards for silicon," Lauenstein said. "We don't know if the methods for silicon transistors would apply to GaN transistors. With silicon, we can assess the threshold for failure."

With the funding, Lauenstein and MacDonald are teaming with the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, a parts manufacturer, and the NASA Electronic Parts and Packaging to establish criteria assuring a GaNs-type device could withstand the effects of potentially harmful particles produced by galactic cosmic rays and other sources.

The material could be useful in electron-beam accelerators - comprised of GaN transistors - built to map specific magnetic lines in Earth's protective magnetosphere to their footprints in Earth's ionosphere where aurora occur - helping to show how the two regions of near-Earth space connect.

"The team's research on radiation tolerance helps us understand how to fly these accelerators in the harsh space environment over the mission's lifetime," MacDonald said.

According to Lauenstein, these standards will also benefit other scientific disciplines. "We need a path forward for this technology," she said "This opens the door for others to incorporate this technology into their own missions."

Game Changing

For de Nolfo and Hunter, GaN offers a potential solution for building a detector for imaging neutrons, which are short-lived and typically expire after about 15 minutes. Neutrons can be generated by energetic events in the Sun as well as cosmic ray interactions with Earth's upper atmosphere. The neutrons generated by cosmic rays in the atmosphere can add to Earth's radiation belt - a swatch of radiation surrounding Earth that among other things can interfere with onboard satellite electronics - when they decay. Researchers have discovered GaN can form the basis of a highly sensitive neutron detector.

"The GaN crystal could be game-changing for us," de Nolfo said.

Under their concept, Hunter and de Nolfo would position a GaN crystal inside an instrument. As neutrons entered the crystal, they scatter off gallium and nitrogen atoms and, in the process, excite other atoms, which then produce a flash of light revealing the position of the neutron that initiated the reaction. Silicon photomultipliers attached to the crystal convert the flash of light into an electrical pulse to be analyzed by the sensor electronics.

"GaN is reasonably well understood in the photo-electronics industry, but I think we're pushing the envelope a little on this application," Hunter said, adding that the beauty of the concept is that it would contain no moving parts, use little power, and operate in a vacuum. If it works, the instrument would benefit different space science disciplines and the military in detecting nuclear material, he added.


×
Search the news archive

To close this popup you can press escape or click the close icon.
Logo
×
Logo
×
Register - Step 1

You may choose to subscribe to the Power Electronics World Magazine, the Power Electronics World Newsletter, or both. You may also request additional information if required, before submitting your application.


Please subscribe me to:

 

You chose the industry type of "Other"

Please enter the industry that you work in:
Please enter the industry that you work in: