VISIBLE BLIND QUADRANT SUN POSITION SENSOR IN A SILICON CARBIDE TECHNOLOGY

In this paper, we present a quadrant sun position sensor microsystem device in a silicon carbide technology that operates in a field-of-view of +/- 33 degrees and reaches a mean error of 1.9 degrees in this range. This will allow, for the first time, an inherently visible blind sun position sensor in a CMOS compatible technology. Opto-electronic integration of the photodetectors and CMOS readout circuitry on-chip is vital to compete with the performance of silicon state-of-the-art and for the concept to be adopted by industry, which is where previous implementations of visible blind sun sensors are lacking.

Automated summary

This paper presents a quadrant sun position sensor microsystem device that operates in a field-of-view of +/- 33 degrees and achieves a mean error of 1.9 degrees in this range, using silicon carbide technology. This development enables the realization of an inherently visible blind sun position sensor in a CMOS compatible technology for the first time.