Microfabricated albedo insensitive sun position sensor system in silicon carbide with integrated 3D optics and CMOS electronics

Romijn, J.; Vollebregt, S.; de Bie, Vincent G.; Middelburg, L.M.; el Mansouri, B.; van Zeijl, H.W.; May, Alexander; Erlbacher, Tobias; Leijtens, J.A.P.; Zhang, Kouchi; Sarro, Pasqualina M

doi:10.1016/j.sna.2023.114268

Microfabricated albedo insensitive sun position sensor system in silicon carbide with integrated 3D optics and CMOS electronics

Title

Microfabricated albedo insensitive sun position sensor system in silicon carbide with integrated 3D optics and CMOS electronics

Author

Romijn, J. (TU Delft Microelectronics)
Vollebregt, S. (TU Delft Electronic Components, Technology and Materials)
de Bie, Vincent G. (Eindhoven University of Technology)
Middelburg, L.M. (TU Delft Electronic Components, Technology and Materials)
el Mansouri, B. (TU Delft Electronic Components, Technology and Materials)
van Zeijl, H.W. (TU Delft Electronic Components, Technology and Materials)
May, Alexander (Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Systems and Devices Technology IISB)
Erlbacher, Tobias (Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Systems and Devices Technology IISB)
Leijtens, J.A.P. (Lens R&D)
Zhang, Kouchi (TU Delft Electronic Components, Technology and Materials)
Sarro, Pasqualina M (TU Delft Electronic Components, Technology and Materials)

Department

Microelectronics

Date

2023

Abstract

The next generation of satellites will need to tackle tomorrow's challenges for communication, navigation and observation. In order to do so, it is expected that the amount of satellites in orbit will keep increasing, form smart constellations and miniaturize individual satellites to make access to space cost effective. To enable this next generation of activities in space, it is vital to ensure the ability of these satellites to properly navigate themselves. This control starts with attitude measurement by the dedicated sensors on the satellite, commonly performed by sun position sensors. The state-of-the art is confronted by large signal distortions caused by light reflected by the Earth's albedo as well as keeping up with the satellite miniaturization trend. This work aims to address both these issues, by presenting a microfabricated albedo insensitive sun position sensor in silicon carbide with wafer-level integrated optics. The presented 10 mm×10 mm×1 mm system reaches a mean angular accuracy of 5.7° in a ±37° field-of-view and integrates an on-chip temperature sensor with a -3.9 mV K⁻¹ sensitivity in the 20 °C to 200 °C range.

Subject

4H-SiC
Integrated optics
Optical sensors
Silicon carbide
Space instrumentation
Sun position sensors
Thermocompressive bonding
UV sensors
Wafer-level packaging
Wide bandgap