Flexible electronics for space applications
- PDF / 642,020 Bytes
- 12 Pages / 612 x 792 pts (letter) Page_size
- 11 Downloads / 299 Views
I9.7.1
Flexible electronics for space applications Erik Brandon, William West, Lisong Zhou1, Tom Jackson1, Greg Theriot2, Rod A.B. Devine2, David Binkley3, Nikhil Verma3 and Robert Crawford3 NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology Pasadena, CA 91109 1 Pennsylvania State University University Park, PA 16802 2 Air Force Research Laboratory, Kirtland Air Force Base Albuquerque, New Mexico 87117 3 University of North Carolina, Charlotte Charlotte, NC 28223 ABSTRACT NASA is currently developing a host of deployable structures for the exploration of space. These include balloons, solar sails, space-borne telescopes and membrane-based synthetic aperture radar. Each of these applications is driven by the need for a thin, low mass, large area structure (e.g., polymer-based) which could not be implemented using conventional engineering materials such as metals and alloys. In each case, there is also the need to integrate sensing and control electronics within the structure. However, conventional silicon-based electronics are difficult to integrate with such large, thin structures, due to a variety of concerns including mass, reliability and manufacturing issues. Flexible electronics, particularly thin film transistors (TFTs), are a potentially key enabling technology that may allow the integration of a wide range of sensors and actuators into these types of structures. There are numerous challenges, however, regarding the survivability of such devices during stowage and deployment of the structure, as well as during operation in the harsh environments of space. We have fabricated TFTs on polyimide substrates, and are investigating the durability of these devices with respect to relevant space environments. We are also developing flexible sensor technologies for the integration of distributed sensor networks on large area structures. INTRODUCTION Efforts within the microelectronics industry to fabricate circuits on flexible substrates have grown significantly in recent years [1,2]. This increased interest has largely been catalyzed by steady improvements in organic semiconducting materials, coupled with continued innovations in thin film silicon processing techniques. Applications as wide ranging as flexible displays and electronic textiles are under consideration for various commercial markets. Despite the significant challenges, there are potentially numerous opportunities for employing flexible electronics in the realm of aerospace applications. For example, NASA is designing and developing various large area deployable spacecraft concepts for both earth science applications and deep space exploration [3]. The use of deployable structures reaches back into the 1950s, when the 30 meter inflatable ECHO balloon was launched as a reflector for radar signals. A variety of other large polymer-based inflatable/deployable structures have been conceived and/or launched. The main goal of this approach is aimed at overcoming the limitations in the maximum size spacecraft which can fit in
I9.7.2
the fairi
Data Loading...
