Electronic systems in space must operate in an environment characterised by wide temperature swings and high radiation flux. Silicon carbide (SiC) electronics is becoming the preferred solution for high efficiency and high temperature systems; however, the conventional approach of CMOS and bipolar junction transistor circuits are hampered by their low radiation tolerance, even when utilised in wide bandgap materials such as SiC. In contrast, SiC Schottky diodes and SiC Junction Field Effect Transistors (JFETs) do not exhibit a TID susceptibility at dose levels typical for circuits deployed in harsh space applications. For this reason, the development of all JFET based electronic systems offers a significant step forward in terms of high reliability mission capability, which will directly support the needs for satellites and space exploration in the medium and long term. The bandgap reference is a critical part of ADC design and supports the development of the feedback loop for power converters – which are a necessary part of the energy distribution system. Reducing the need for buck – boost converters in satellites – power from solar panels and thermoelectric generators. The proposed solution is to design and construct a bench top demonstrator of a silicon carbide based bandgap reference using hybrid construction techniques that is operable over a temperature range of -100 to +250 oC and in a total ionising dose of 1Mrad (Si) from a 60Co source. The demonstrator will be evaluated in line with the requirements of TRL 3. The demonstrator will be made available to ESA for further evaluation at the conclusion of the project. The proposed solution is based on the Kuijk topology and utilises low noise SiC Schottky diodes coupled with a bespoke temperature invariant JFET based differential amplifier topology that has been previously demonstrated in both high temperature and nuclear instrumentation environments.
