Survey of cryogenic semiconductor devices

Improved reliability and electronic performance can be achieved in a system operated at cryogenic temperatures because of the reduction in mechanical insult and in disruptive effects of thermal energy on electronic devices. Continuing discoveries of new superconductors with ever increasing values of T{sub c} above that of liquid nitrogen temperature (LNT) have provided incentive for developing semiconductor electronic systems that may also operate in the superconductor`s liquid nitrogen bath. Because of the interest in high-temperature superconductor (HTS) devices, liquid nitrogen is the cryogen of choice and LNT is the temperature on which this review is focused. The purpose of this survey is to locate and assemble published information comparing the room temperature (298 K), performance of commercially available conventional and hybrid semiconductor device with their performance at LNT (77K), to help establish their candidacy as cryogenic electronic devices specifically for use at LNT. The approach to gathering information for this survey included the following activities. Periodicals and proceedings were searched for information on the behavior of semiconductor devices at LNT. Telephone calls were made to representatives of semiconductor industries, to semiconductor subcontractors, to university faculty members prominent for their research in the area of cryogenic semiconductors, and to representatives of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and NASA subcontractors. The sources and contacts are listed with their responses in the introduction, and a list of references appears at the end of the survey