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.

In this work, a highly linear temperature sensor based on a silicon carbide (SiC) p-n diode is presented. Under a constant current biasing, the diode has an excellent linear response to the temperature (from room temperature to 600°C). The best linearity (coefficient of determination ${R}^{{2}}$ = 99.98%) is achieved when the current density is 0.53 mA/cm2. The maximum sensitivity of the p-n diode is 3.04 mV/°C. The temperature sensor is fully compatible with Fraunhofer Institute (FHG) IISB's open SiC CMOS (complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor) technology, thus enabling the monolithic integration with SiC readout circuits for high-temperature applications. The sensor also features a simple fabrication process. To our knowledge, the presented device is the first SiC diode temperature sensor that does not require a mesa etch or backside contacts.

The wide bandgap of silicon carbide (SiC) has attracted a large interest over the past years in many research fields, such as power electronics, high operation temperature circuits, harsh environmental sensing, and more. To facilitate research on complex integrated SiC circuits, ensure reproducibility, and cut down cost, the availability of a low-voltage SiC technology for integrated circuits is of paramount importance. Here, we report on a scalable and open state-of-the-art SiC CMOS technology that addresses this need. An overview of technology parameters, including MOSFET threshold voltage, subthreshold slope, slope factor, and process transconductance, is reported. Conventional integrated digital and analog circuits, ranging from inverters to a 2-bit analog-to-digital converter, are reported. First yield predictions for both analog and digital circuits show great potential for increasing the amount of integrated devices in future applications.