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NASA Building Massively Heat-Resistant Chips

Posted by kdawson on from the don't-bother-with-water-cooling dept.

coondoggie writes "NASA researchers have designed and built a new circuit chip that can take the heat of a blast furnace and keep on performing. Silicon carbide (SiC) chips can operate at 600 degrees Celsius or 1,112 degrees Fahrenheit where conventional silicon-based electronics — limited to about 350 C — would fail. The new silicon carbide differential amplifier integrated circuit chip may provide benefits to anything requiring long-lasting electronic circuits in very hot environments such as jets, spacecraft, and industrial machinery. In particular, NASA said SiC applications will include energy storage, renewable energy, nuclear power, and electrical drives."

2 of 172 comments (clear)

  1. Venus Lander! by Derling+Whirvish · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Maybe we can finally get a decent lander or rover on Venus.

  2. Re:A=A if you ignore B by smashin234 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    "20 years ago, I wouldn't have even thought to question NASA's work, but their track record lately invites such abuse."

    You underfund the agency and expect huge rewards? We dumped so much more money into NASA back in the days of the spacerace and we as a society benefited from hundreds of technologies that today we take for granted.

    I am not saying NASA shouldn't be watched for spending....but you can't expect an agency to perform if you don't give it money.

    This may not be a huge accomplishment, but being able to withstand higher heat means that you can keep your current cooling apparatus the same and simply allow the chip to run faster (and hotter). Yes, the heat still needs to escape, and there may be other problems with implementation, but you have to take that first step first.