Grant Advances Work on Electronics Systems in Extreme Environments

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Jia Di, professor of computer science and computer engineering, is congratulated at this spring's Inventors' Appreciation Banquet by University of Arkansas System President Donald R. Bobbitt (from left), U of A Chancellor Joe Steinmetz and U of A Provost Ashok Saxena.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The National Science Foundation awarded University of Arkansas computer engineering professor Jia Di $349,198 to advance his design of microcontrollers that can operate in extreme environmental conditions, such as space.

In addition to electronic systems used in space vehicles and satellites, the technology has many other commercial applications, such as sensing and control in automobile engines, monitoring and drilling of wells in oil and gas exploration, medical imaging, lasers, and computing and energy-storage systems.

Jia Di, University of Arkansas

The award is part of the NSF’s Grant Opportunities for Academic Liaison with Industry program. Di will collaborate with Radiance Technologies Inc., a Huntsville, Alabama, systems-engineering and technology firm, to refine his work on asynchronous microcontrollers that rely on local “handshaking” protocols instead of traditional timing protocols that rely on global clocks.

Currently, electronic system circuits are time based, with data transfers occurring within a specific timeframe. Extremely low or high temperatures can affect circuit speed in these traditional, time-based systems, which often causes them to malfunction in harsh environments.

The researchers also exposed the integrated circuit to extreme heat.

Di’s design of digitally integrated circuits relies on asynchronous logic to make chips run more efficiently. Each part of the circuit uses what are called handshaking protocols, which is a communication mechanism between two adjacent circuit components that notify each other about their operation status. These protocols indicate when one task is finished and the next one can begin.

Using this approach, the researchers will design, build and test a prototype microcontroller that they hope to commercialize. The objective is to achieve robust system operation with low-power consumption, which conserves battery and harvested energy.

To expose the microcontroller to extreme cold, the researchers inserted an integrated circuit, to which the controller was attached, into a cryogenic chamber, which was cooled by vacuum and liquid helium.

In addition to electronic systems used in space vehicles and satellites, the technology has many other commercial applications, such as sensing and control in automobile engines, monitoring and drilling of wells in oil and gas exploration, medical imaging, lasers, and computing and energy-storage systems.

Di holds the Twenty-First Century Research Leadership Chair in the College of Engineering at the University of Arkansas.

About the University of Arkansas: The University of Arkansas provides an internationally competitive education for undergraduate and graduate students in more than 200 academic programs. The university contributes new knowledge, economic development, basic and applied research, and creative activity while also providing service to academic and professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the University of Arkansas among only 2 percent of universities in America that have the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the University of Arkansas among its top American public research universities. Founded in 1871, the University of Arkansas comprises 10 colleges and schools and maintains a low student-to-faculty ratio that promotes personal attention and close mentoring.