Operational Testing of 4H-SiC JFET ICs for 60 Days Directly Exposed to Venus Surface Atmospheric Conditions

Abstract

Prolonged Venus surface missions (lasting months instead of hours) have proven infeasible to date in the absence of a complete suite of electronics able to function for such durations without protection from the planet's extreme conditions of 460°C, 9.3 MPa (92 Earth atmospheres) chemically reactive environment. Here, we report testing data from a successful two-month (60-day) operational demonstration of two 175-transistor 4H-SiC junction field effect transistor (JFET) semiconductor integrated circuits directly exposed (no cooling and no protective chip packaging) to a high-fidelity physical and chemical reproduction of Venus surface atmospheric conditions in a test chamber. These results extend the longest reported duration of electronics operation in Venus surface atmospheric conditions almost threefold and were accomplished using prototype SiC JFET chips of more than sevenfold increased complexity. The demonstrated advancement marks a significant step toward realization of electronics with sufficient complexity and durability for implementing robotic landers capable of returning months of scientific data from the surface of Venus.