Implementation of a silicon driver for an optically controlled high power switching application

The ever-increasing performance and economic requirements placed on commercial and military aircraft are resulting in the need for very complex avionic systems. To help alleviate some of the design complexity, fiber optic components have been suggested as an enabling technology that could allow the creation of an optical communications network routed throughout the avionic systems of an aircraft. The challenge has been the development of an optoelectronic switching technology that can withstand the high power and harsh environmental conditions common in a flight surface actuation system. Wide bandgap semiconductors such as silicon carbide offer the potential to overcome these operating conditions. Although SiC is not optically active at the near IR wavelengths where communications grade light sources are readily available, we have proposed a hybrid device that combines silicon based photoreceiver module with a SiC power transistor. We present in this paper the design and test results from a silicon driver chip that has recently been fabricated.