PFI-TT: High Performance Pressure Sensors for High Temperature Operations

该创新-技术转化合作伙伴关系（PFI-TT）项目的更广泛影响/商业潜力在于满足对可在高温和恶劣环境条件下工作的先进压力传感器的关键工业需求。下一代电动汽车、石油钻井平台、发电厂和外太空任务都需要能够在极端环境条件下运行的传感器和系统，并具有高可靠性和出色的性能。 其他潜在市场包括高性能传感器，可用于救援任务以及具有更好位置检测的飞行和无人机操作。这些传感器的开发，具有数亿美元的潜在市场，也有望大大扩展下一代半导体器件和芯片制造的知识。拟议中的项目将推进对宽带隙半导体和器件制造工艺的科学理解。所提出的传感器，它利用这些材料的压电性能沿着他们的化学惰性和热稳定性，将确保他们的高性能，即使在高工作温度下，超过现有的传感器的能力。此外，传感器将提供新颖的压力灵敏度可调谐性和非常低的操作功率要求，因为集成晶体管用于检测由压力变化引起的膜偏转。传感器将使用硅衬底上的外延III-氮化物（（Al，In，Ga）N）层构建，这将确保低成本和通过蚀刻容易去除衬底。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Partnerships for Innovation - Technology Translation (PFI-TT) project is in addressing the critical industrial need for advanced pressure sensors that can operate at high temperatures and in harsh environmental conditions. Next generation electric vehicles, oil rigs, power plants and outer space missions require sensors and systems that are capable of operating under extreme environmental conditions with high reliability and outstanding performance. Additional potential markets include high performance sensors that can be used in rescue missions as well as flight and drone operations with better location detection. The development of these sensors, with a potential market in the hundreds of million dollars, is also expected to significantly expand knowledge of next generation semiconductor devices and chip manufacturing.The proposed project will advance scientific understanding of wide bandgap semiconductors and device manufacturing processes. The proposed sensor, which leverages the piezoelectric properties of these materials along with their chemical inertness and thermal stability, will ensure their high performance even at high operating temperatures, exceeding the capabilities of existing sensors. Additionally, the sensors would offer novel tunability of pressure sensitivity and very low operating power requirements, as an integrated transistor is used to detect membrane deflection caused by pressure changes. The sensors will be built using epitaxial III-Nitride ((Al, In, Ga)N) layers on a silicon substrate, which will ensure low cost and easy substrate removal through etching. The research and translation will be done with multiple research and commercial in partnerships.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.