A 60-MHz Silicon Carbide Voltage-Controlled Oscillator for Extreme Temperature Applications

In this brief, a custom-built silicon carbide (SiC) junction field-effect transistor (JFET) is characterized from room temperature to 525 degrees C, and a 60 MHz voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) based on this SiC JFET is designed and fabricated through low temperature co-fired ceramic (LTCC) process. The test results of the VCO prototype demonstrate that the proposed SiC JFET VCO is capable of operating from 25 degrees C to 500 degrees C. RF signal of 50dB above the noise floor is generated, and the tuning gain of 9.22 kHz/V is achieved at 500.C. The proposed SiC JFET VCO can serve as the fundamental building block for wireless sensing or data communication in extreme temperature industrial and space applications.

Automated summary

In this article, a custom-built silicon carbide (SiC) junction field-effect transistor (JFET) has been characterized, and a 60 MHz voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) based on this SiC JFET has been designed and fabricated using low temperature co-fired ceramic (LTCC) process. The test results of the VCO prototype show that the proposed SiC JFET VCO can operate from 25 degrees C to 500 degrees C. An RF signal of 50dB above the noise floor is generated, and a tuning gain of 9.22 kHz/V is achieved at 500.C. The proposed SiC JFET VCO can serve as a fundamental building block for wireless sensing or data communication in extreme temperature industrial and space applications.